Construction is temporarily on hold at 77 West 66th Street, a forthcoming 1,198-foot residential supertall skyscraper on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects and developed by Extell, the 86-story structure would yield 430 condominium units, as well as over 25,000 square feet of retail space, 187 enclosed parking spaces, two cellar levels, and an undisclosed list of amenities. The site is bounded by Columbus Avenue, West 66th and West 67th Streets, and would eventually take the crown from 50 West 66th Street to become the new tallest skyscraper in the neighborhood by a wide margin.
A stop work order was ordered on July 24, as asbestos was discovered during the final stages of demolition of the former studios for American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which also served as the broadcasting facilities for ESPN and various ABC shows. Remediation is underway before the site can resume the last amount of demolition and clean-up operations, which will hopefully occur soon.
Demolition was beginning to become noticeable during YIMBY’s last update in late-December, when the parts of the facade and floors were starting to be taken apart. Crews quickly tore down nearly everything before work was recently halted, as shown in the aerial and street-level images below that were taken in mid-August.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
77 West 66th Street is the biggest component of the city block that Extell plans to transform, alongside a future 25-story residential tower at 37 West 66th Street which YIMBY recently covered, as well as a nine-story, 50-unit building at 30 West 67th Street, and a seven-story, 31-unit building at 7 West 66th Street. The latter two sites have yet to be razed.
The nearest subway from the site is the 1 train at the 66th Street–Lincoln Center station by the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue.
An anticipated completion date, finalized exterior and interior renderings, a list of amenities, and pricing for the homes at 77 West 66th Street have yet to be publicly revealed.
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Hopefully they can start soon. It has been over a month.
Better they take their time, and get it right.
It was just discovered? Someone call Morgan and Morgan!
I am puzzled about where the asbestos came from. The ABC studios (and especially the ESPN tower built in the 80s) were built well after they stopped using asbestos.
Also, it is on Columbus, not Amsterdam.
I wonder if they reused elements of a previous building in its foundation?
All I can find is an axonometric drawing of the tower. It’s an attractive, classic prewar form. One comment claimed it won’t be limestone. Let’s hope for the best.
Those are awesome aerial photos of the site!
A giant limestone temple that would make Hadrian look like he was playing with Lincoln Logs!!!
These brownfield sites run the risk of needing additional remediation as the project prep work progresses. This building site is a perfect example. This is due to the years of environmental neglect and poor regulation, not over regulations, but common sense, environmental regulation where you cut corners in the beginning, or ignore the problem kick the bucket down the street, and then let the next generation pay for it. When will we learn our lesson? According to Ginger Teabo, President of the Mamalestian-American builders consortium, States that the concept of preparing for the future by being cognizant of the responsibilities of the present, is a fundamental preset of the ancient book, “The Balenyata”. Specifically, the con sept discussed here, named, “ Konchewchia” is the Mamalestian view of taking, “universal balance” to “time/space balance”. Many Gen Xer’s refer to thisconcept when they talk about social justice by ensuring every working American has an affordable residence. Hopefully this will be a lessen learned.
After it is built most of the apartments will be purchased and then left empty. Lol