It’s a race to the top as developers are reaching higher and higher with impressive glass skyscrapers that house exclusive apartments and panoramic views across Manhattan, level with some of the city’s tallest buildings. Gary Barnett of Extell Development Co. is the man behind the 1,005 foot high One57 tower in Midtown Manhattan. He announced last month that he would be developing the tallest residential building in New York City (without the help of a spire). Adrian Smith, chosen as the architect for the job, is best known for his work on the Burj Dubai. The new building, still in its early stages of design planning and financing, will tower over the Empire State Building at a planned 1600 feet, that’s just 176 feet shy of World Trade One, the tallest building in Manhattan.
So what does it mean to build a residential tower this high? The site for the tower is located on Broadway between 57th and 58th streets, address 225 West 57th Street, just off Central Park. The selling point of this trend for building “office building tall” residential buildings are the sweeping views that these luxury apartments can offer. The new tower will also house Nordstrom’s first retail location in New York City, occupying the first six stories, according to an article by Matt Chaban on The New York Observer.
As long as there is a market for penthouses in the sky, valued at millions of dollars, developers like Bartnett will provide. 225 West 57th is just one of a number of towers that have made headlines in the real estate market. New York by Gehry was the tallest residential tower before One57 surpassed it. 432 Park Ave, currently under construction, will surpass One57. And now 225 West 57th is geared to rise over 432 Park Ave and leave even NYC’s most iconic Empire State Building in the dust.
Now if you can imagine the the city’s skyline in the next few years, it will probably be a little bit taller, a little bit slimmer and double its high-end density as developers and architects reach to new heights.
via Flickr user Adam Jackson; Licensed via Creative Commons. via Wall Street Journal and The New York Observer
