On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held public hearings on six proposed designations. One was for a complex in East New York, Brooklyn and the latter five were for properties in Midtown East.
The Anbang Insurance Group Co. is planning to convert up to 1,100 hotel rooms of the 1,413-key Waldorf Astoria into an undisclosed number of condominiums. The 47-story, 625-foot-tall luxury hotel is at 301 Park Avenue, located on the block between East 49th and 50th streets in Midtown East. The hotel-to-residential conversion would retain between 300 to 500 hotel rooms, which will also see renovations of their own, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project is expected to cost $1 billion, and would close the Waldorf Astoria for up to three years. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will remain the hotel operator following the conversion. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will have to approve any exterior alterations. The hotel played host to the president of the United States for decades until China-based Angang acquired the property, an individual landmark, for $1.95 billion in 2015. During last year’s United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama stayed at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.
YIMBY can now bring you news that foundation work is underway at 200 East 59th Street, at the corner of Third Avenue on the northern edge of Midtown East, courtesy of photos posted to the YIMBY Forums by Vertical_Gotham. It’s the site of a 35-story, 67-unit mixed-use building being developed by Macklowe Properties, which YIMBY recently revealed a full rendering for last week. As reported earlier, the 490-foot-tall tower will measure 109,581 square feet, of which 14,861 square feet will be utilized for retail space on the cellar through second floors. The apartments above, which will be condominiums, should average 1,490 square feet apiece. Amenities include storage for 36 bikes, a lounge, a terrace on the third floor, and a fitness center. CetraRuddy is behind the architecture. Completion is expected in late 2017.
At the intersection of the Upper East Side and Midtown East, there has been a surge of new development, starting with the newly-iconic 432 Park Avenue, by Macklowe Properties. And now we have the first full rendering of the same developer’s plans for 200 East 59th Street, designed by CetraRuddy, thanks to the YIMBY Forums, where EB-5 materials for the project have surfaced. YIMBY previously revealed the first renderings of the building back in November, but this image is the first to show the whole tower, which will feature wraparound terraces on every floor.
Demolition has progressed significantly on the cluster of pre-war commercial buildings on the block bound by East 42nd and 43rd streets and Madison and Vanderbilt avenues, directly west of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown East. The existing structures are only a few more months from being removed, as seen in the photos by ILNY posted to the YIMBY Forums. In their place will rise a 67-story, 1,514-foot-tall office tower called One Vanderbilt, being developed by SL Green Realty Corporation and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. The tower will encompass 1,732,955 square feet of space, of which 1,295,140 square feet is designated as commercial.
