685 Fifth Avenue. Rendering via Marin Architects

685 Fifth Avenue’s Mandarin Oriental Conversion and Expansion Now Underway, in Midtown

Work is underway to prepare 685 Fifth Avenue for a 100,000-square-foot office-to-condominium conversion. The first batch of scaffolding has been assembled on the northern profile of the address, and a green scaffold board runs along the top of the retail section. The 20-story building will eventually be a 30-story building, with ten additional floors to be built atop the current roof parapet. The residential component will comprise 69 condos, to be managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. SHVO is the property developer and has partnered with BLG Holdings and Deutsche Financial to spend $135 million on the expansion and conversion of the property, which will stand 350 feet tall and rise 30 stories when complete. Marin was the architect of record and the design architect, with March & White handling the interior design. Brookfield Properties is in charge of marketing the Fifth Avenue retail space.

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20-Story Hotel at 10 East 30th Street Nearing Completion in NoMad

Construction crews are putting the final exterior touches on 10 East 30th Street, a new 20-story hotel located in NoMad between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The reinforced concrete structure was shrouded in a thick layer of netting during its construction, but this has recently been removed revealing a sleek glass curtain wall. The upper floors have a mix of sloped glass and setbacks that may make room for outdoor terrace space. Baobab Architects is the designer of the project.

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270 Park Avenue’s Shrouded Demolition Making Progress in Midtown East

Work to prepare 270 Park Avenue for its demolition is continuing in Midtown East. Since YIMBY’s last update in late July, more scaffolding and netting have been installed on the lower section of the Modernist-style skyscraper. JPMorgan Chase is the developer of the project to tear down the 1.5-million-square-foot, 52-story tower and replace it with a 57-story supertall designed by Foster + Partners Architects, with Adamson Associates as the architect of record.

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