YIMBY has covered One Vanderbilt’s evolution extensively, and several years after it was initially proposed, construction is now reaching well above street level. Today, we have a new look at what the uppermost portion of the tower will yield, in the form of its observation deck. The developer, SL Green, is considering several new options.
The skyscraper boom surrounding the lower reaches of Fifth Avenue has only accelerated in the past few years, with 277 Fifth Avenue now rising quickly, and foundation work underway for 126 Madison Avenue, one block to the north. To the southwest of those towers, excavation is also about to begin on the area’s first legitimate residential supertall, at 262 Fifth Avenue, and today YIMBY has an exclusive new look at the project, for which the DOB officially approved plans yesterday.
The last time YIMBY checked in on progress at Brookfield’s Manhattan West, a little over a year ago, construction had just reached above ground level. Now, the superstructure for the first tower, at 401 Ninth Avenue, is closing in on the halfway mark, and in the past few days, glass installation has also begun.
The Midtown Plateau’s block-to-block coverage of behemoth skyscrapers knows no rivals in terms of sheer density, which is why it is increasingly difficult for towers to penetrate above the still-rapidly-growing thicket. But at an imminent height of 1,050 feet, and after ten years of watching and waiting, the Jean Nouvel-designed 53 West 53rd Street is about to do exactly that.
While the slate of supertalls entering the city’s development pipeline has been dwindling across most neighborhoods, the trickle of new construction has stayed constant in the densest areas of Midtown and the Financial District. Within the blocks of Lower Manhattan, 45 Broad Street has continued to make progress, and now, workers are arriving on-site for what will become Downtown’s tallest residential tower.
