NEW YORK | 610 Lexington Ave | 712 FT / 216 M l 66 FLOORS

[Scruffy]

Shangri La Hotel
610 Lexington Ave
709 ft / 216 m
61 Floors
Norman Foster









This tower will rise at 610 Lexington Ave at the corner of East 53rd Street. It sits directly behind and tower over the iconic Seagram building. It is incredibly narrow with a 46 foot width so it won't have that big of a visual impact in the skyline. Especially since it will be catty corner to the incredibly thick 915ft Citigroup Center.

The tower is designed by Norman Foster and RFR Realty. The added height to the tower was made possible by buying remaining air rights from the Seagram Building.

The site is bordered by Subway lines on its northern (E and V) and eastern (4,5,6) borders. It is across the street from a major subway stop.

This building takes the place of a now demolished YWCA.

source: Lecom

8/24/08
Currently the foundations are being dug. On the western edge of the site abutting Seagrams, the foundations are near 30 feet deep currently.

[Lecom]

Haha, I totally forgot about this bad boy. Will add to the compilation.

And kudos for adopting the brief description format at the top of the thread.

[staff]

Damn, what's the heigh/width ratio on this one? It's definitely Highcliff/Summit-like.

I love it.

[Lecom]

Btw scruffy, mark your NY threads with a smiley face, like the Chicago ones are marked with the blue shades one.

[Scruffy]

Originally Posted by Lecom

Btw scruffy, mark your NY threads with a smiley face, like the Chicago ones are marked with the blue shades one.

no idea how to do that. do it for me.

[Lecom]

Originally Posted by Scruffy

no idea how to do that. do it for me.

ehh I'm not 1337 enough to do that yet, but when you create a thread there's like a bunch of smileys above the thread, and they got bullets next to them. Click on the bullet next to the regular yellow smiley.

[Crawford]

This building will be 709 feet, not 687 feet. For some reason Emporis lists it wrong.

From the Shangri-La website:

The unique design for the slender 709-foot-tall tower calls for exterior columns incorporated into the building’s faceted curtain wall, using low iron glass to achieve a crystal clear appearance of the tower.

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2...ngriLaNYC.html

[Scruffy]

Changed the height. Thanks Crawford. LeCom can you change the thread title to reflect 709ft/ 216 meters

[Lecom]

This is the source Emporis used:

http://www.de-simone.com/projects/re...lexington.html

They're the consulting engineers. Both sources seem legit are dated at around the same time, so I have no way of knowing which one is correct.

[Crawford]

The Department of City Planning and Department of Buildings both certified the project for 709 feet.

Maybe the issue is structural height/roof height??

If you look at the renderings, the roof appears to be different based on if you are measuring from the perimeter or at the center:

http://www.thecityreview.com/lex610.html

There are many such issues, such as with the Herzog & DeMeuron tower in Tribeca. The construction guys say 825 feet; the permits say 796 feet.

From CityRealty:

Last night, Community Board 5 narrowly passed a resolution supporting the transfer of air rights from the iconic Seagram Building, at 375 Park Avenue, to a new development at 610 Lexington Avenue (the transparent building in the photo of the developer's model).

RFR Realty LLC is the owner of both the Seagram Building and the property to be developed, currently home to to a YWCA that will be demolished to make way for the new 257,000-square-foot, 62-story building, which will be 709 feet high.

[Lecom]

Fair enough for the source. DOB isn't always correct due to what they consider the top of the building sometimes, but so far we got 2 legit sources vs 1, so the taller height wins (yay)

Scruffy, I'm gonna replace your front page image of the original 610 Lexington with my own photo of the building, as you got the wrong one displayed. It's a shame that this unassuming yet well-executed gem is gone. It definitely fits in my category of "if they're gonna take it down, they better make it damn worth it" demolitions.

[Nowhereman1280]

Wow, this one is sweet! I want a Foster high rise in Chicago!

Low Iron glass eh? That stuff is expensive, fancy smancy...

[Lecom]

This lobby treatment is sick.

[yaletown_fella]

Originally Posted by Lecom

This lobby treatment is sick.

The lobby is gorgeous! Despite only being around 700 feet I think this could be an iconic Midtown address!

The robust black modernist building next door both contrasts and compliments this... The perfect backdrop.

[KevininPhx]

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella

The lobby is gorgeous! Despite only being around 700 feet I think this could be an iconic Midtown address!

The robust black modernist building next door both contrasts and compliments this... The perfect backdrop.

Greetings from Phoenix where it pains me to hear "only" and "700 feet" in the same sentence.

[hunser]

Originally Posted by KevininPhx

Greetings from Phoenix where it pains me to hear "only" and "700 feet" in the same sentence.

How things are going in New York, you'll soon hear "only 1,000 feet". I'm not joking.

And I agree, 610 Lex's design fits in just perfectly.

[NYC4Life]

Incredibly narrow, but sleek tower. Only in NY can such a tower be built in a small and compact lot.

[scalziand]

Could someone change the diagrams page to reflect the new height?

Here's another article with 709 foot mark:
http://www.hines.com/property/detail.aspx?id=1855

[Antares41]

Walk by this sunday looks like a pretty deep hole their digging; underground parking? Must be a delicate operation given the proximity of the Lexington Avenue line.

[Antares41]

Originally Posted by scalziand

Could someone change the diagrams page to reflect the new height?

The height on this one has flippped-flopped several times over the past weeks. I believe 709ft was the original and is the most quoted height. I think I must have change my drawing about three times. Glad I had the foresight not to delete my original.