A block a little north of Madison Square Park is on its way to a major transformation, thanks to action by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday. The block in question is between Fifth Avenue and Broadway, on West 29th Street and part of West 30th Street.
A 220-foot-tall office development is set to replace two smaller buildings – one mixed-use and the other commercial – in Midtown’s tiny Diamond District. New building applications were filed Friday for the 17-story building at 43 West 47th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
Back in 2002, the Moinian Group acquired, for an undisclosed amount, the 19,750-square-foot lot at 220 Eleventh Avenue, located between West 25th and 26th streets in West Chelsea. Since then, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has constructed what appears to be a ventilation system for the 7 Subway Extension on the northern end of the lot. Now, we can bring you news that the developer is moving forward with development of the site. Planned is a mixed-use project, with condominiums and a space for a cultural institution, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The project was one of the last that Zaha Hadid personally designed before she unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. The site can accommodate up to 187,820 square feet of new mixed-use development. Construction is expected to get underway in early 2017.
Over the weekend, it was revealed, by the New York Post, that Extell Development is partnering with Hard Rock International to build a Hard Rock Hotel at 151-159 West 48th Street, located mid-block between Sixth and Seventh avenues, near Times Square in Midtown. Now, a rendering and additional details have been released in a Curbed NY report. The hotel tower will boast 445 rooms, a lobby lounge, a restaurant and bar, a rooftop lounge, and an underground speakeasy-style establishment. The hotel will also feature iconic music memorabilia, like many Hard Rock locations do. The 13,153-square-foot site is currently occupied by a seven-story parking garage and a five-story tenement building. Permits were filed to demolish the garage in February. The assemblage can accommodate 180,336 square feet of commercial development as-of-right. Additional air rights can be acquired elsewhere on the block and from around the district, as the site sits within the special Times Square zoning district.
One of the greatest single engineering challenges currently under construction in New York City has risen above ground. That project is the supertall mixed-use residential tower 111 West 57th Street, located just west of Sixth Avenue in Midtown, and we can see the construction progress on the Billionaires’ Row building thanks to several photos posted by YIMBY Forums users.
