Midtown

301 West 53rd Street

Amenities Revealed At 25-Story, 262-Unit Condominium Conversion At 301 West 53rd Street, Midtown

In early 2015, HFZ Capital Group launched sales for the 262-unit condominium conversion of the 25-story, 264-unit rental apartment building at 301 West 53rd Street, in Midtown. The property, built in 1979, is currently undergoing the conversion. The residential units will come in one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations, and YIMBY can now reveal the project’s 16,000 square feet of amenities. They include a marble-cladded lobby, an outdoor dog park, a landscaped rooftop terrace designed by Terrain, a library, a fitness center, a children’s playroom, and another outdoor terrace on the second floor. The interiors are being designed by BP Architects and the building is being redubbed Fifty Third and Eighth (previously The Metro). The building currently contains 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.


Two Penn Plaza

BIG Plans Revealed For Two Penn Plaza Transformation

Among the numerous hulking eyesores in New York City, Two Penn Plaza manages to make a particularly negative impact, and its placement above Penn Station helps cement the latter’s status as an architectural failure. But now we have a first look at plans to transform the structure completely, created by Bjarke Ingels Group/BIG for developer Vornado.

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Engine Company No. 23

The History of Little Engine 23, at 215 West 58th Street

Not everything happening on or near Billionaires’ Row is supertall. Some of it is supersmall, relatively speaking. Two months ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the restoration and renovation of an individual landmark in the midst of the coming towers. That gives us the perfect opportunity to tell you a little bit about Engine Company No. 23.

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Times Square Theater, 2014. Via Google Maps.

Event Planner Leases Long-Vacant Times Square Theater At 217 West 42nd Street, Midtown

The long-vacant Times Square Theater, located at 217 West 42nd Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues in Midtown, may have another chance to be used, according to the New York Post. Singapore-based Oracle Projects International, which produces and designs events, has reportedly leased the property. The former theater is overseen by the state’s Historic Preservation Committee as well as New 42nd St, a nonprofit that leases the theater (and five others) in a 99-year lease. In recent years, the building was leased twice with different reuse projects in mind, but both failed to come to fruition. The latest plan would likely include, at the very least, minor alterations to, or a restoration of, the existing building. The building’s interior and exterior were on the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s backlog, but were removed from the calendar without prejudice last month.


Finalists for the "Reimagine a New York City Icon" contest for the MetLife Building.

MetLife Building Redesign Competition Finalists Announced

Back in September, we told you about a competition to conceive a redesign of the MetLife Building. Earlier this week, the six finalists of the “Reimagine a New York City Icon” competition were announced. The competition, sponsored by Metals in Construction magazine and the Ornamental Metal Institute of New York, isn’t part of any actual process in the works to modify the Midtown office tower, but are fascinating ideas of what could be. Perhaps these ideas will be put into use at other buildings.

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