NEW YORK | 53W53 (Tower Verre) | 1,050 FT / 320 M | 73 FLOORS

[mrnyc]

bah! it's just corruption pure and simple. city hall needed to scratch vornando's back for whatever reasons.

i am hoping that with a bit of a redesign nouvel and co. at least make a pitch to get the height back. doubtful they will even try but i hope they suck in their egos a bit and try again instead of just giving in.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

bah! it's just corruption pure and simple. city hall needed to scratch vornando's back for whatever reasons.

Also, though it's no excuse, we have to realize that 15 Penn and the Tower Verre are two different types of skyscrapers, in two different locations of Manhattan. If the Tower Verre were a large office tower being built in the vicinity of Penn Station, I doubt things would have turned out the way they did. 15 Penn is just a piece of the massive puzzle City Planning has drawn up for Manhattan's commercial growth.

[sbarn]

I think the height chop was really just a matter of timing. Hines - a savvy developer who should have known better - had the MoMA tower seeking approvals in the midst of a heated election season, therefore causing the Bloomberg administration to bow to unfounded NIMBY concerns. My guess is that if this tower went through "ULURP" this year, it may have been approved at full height. But you never know...

That said, I also think there is truth to NYGuy's assessment above.

[NYguy]

That has a ring of truth also, though at the same time, the NIMBYs were hardly placated with the 1050 ft version. In degree of outrage, there probably was little difference. They still find it too big, don't want it, and have filed a lawsuit to block it. Maybe Burden made a deal with the City Council, maybe Bloomie called, who knows. That 200 ft should never have been cut off, especially considering the praise it got from everyone involved, right up to the very end. Bloomberg, of course, could have reinstated the true height. There were no real winners here. That's not to dismiss the fact though, that we are getting one of the city's greatest additions to the skyline, and a height (1,050 ft) that many cities may never see. I think I can be bitter and enjoy the skyscraper at the same time...

[RobertWalpole]

Bring it on!

NYC residential market showing faster improvement than rest of nation: experts
August 31, 2010 11:00AM
therealdeal.net

Despite a gloomy outlook for the nation's housing market, New York City industry experts are reporting encouraging news on home prices during the third quarter of the year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Manhattan led the charge, with an 18.5 percent increase in median price compared to the second quarter to $900,000. Queens and Brooklyn saw their median prices climb 6.5 percent to $350,000 and 3.9 percent to $467,600, respectively, during the same time period. Staten Island and the Bronx saw their median prices stay relatively flat, meanwhile -- the former daw a 1.7 percent climb in median price to $376,000, while the latter dropped 1 percent to $310,000. The progress appears to be outpacing the rest of the country, according to Gregory Heym, chief economist with Halstead Property and Brown Harris Stevens. "We didn't lose the number of jobs that we thought and added jobs back quicker than we thought," Heym said. "The [NYC] economy is recovering quicker than it is across the nation." [WSJ]

[scalziand]

Originally Posted by sbarn

I think the height chop was really just a matter of timing. Hines - a savvy developer who should have known better - had the MoMA tower seeking approvals in the midst of a heated election season, therefore causing the Bloomberg administration to bow to unfounded NIMBY concerns. My guess is that if this tower went through "ULURP" this year, it may have been approved at full height. But you never know...

That said, I also think there is truth to NYGuy's assessment above.

Certainly the outcome would have been different if it had gone up for approvals after 15 Penn was approved.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by scalziand

Certainly the outcome would have been different if it had gone up for approvals after 15 Penn was approved.

Not at all certain. Again, these are two different types of skyscrapers. City Planning justified their decision as such:

The Commission notes that the 53 West 53rd Street proposal was reduced in height out of concern that it did not have a complete and coherent design at the tower top, and that the proposal would have resulted in a display of mechanical equipment in the upper stratum of the New York skyline. 15 Penn Plaza’s design configuration is consistently well thought out from the base to the tower top, and does not present the issues that concerned the Commission in the case of the West 53rd Street project.

And the City Council was more concerned with the new office space that the city needs, which the Tower Verre doesn't address.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by NYguy

And the City Council was more concerned with the new office space that the city needs, which the Tower Verre doesn't address.

though cant it be argued that Tower Verre would provide high class hotel space in a prime location which in turn would attract many more wealthy visitors to NY?

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

though cant it be argued that Tower Verre would provide high class hotel space in a prime location which in turn would attract many more wealthy visitors to NY?

Not really, though the hotel vacancy rate has been falling in the city. The city thrives on the corporations that rely on this new office space. The Council can back themselves by saying it will at least provide needed jobs and keep companies in the city. I don't think you can argue to New Yorkers that more wealthy tourists are needed.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Not really, though the hotel vacancy rate has been falling in the city. The city thrives on the corporations that rely on this new office space. The Council can back themselves by saying it will at least provide needed jobs and keep companies in the city. I don't think you can argue to New Yorkers that more wealthy tourists are needed.

but cant wealthy tourist help stimulate the economy if they spend money here?

[Thefigman]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

but cant wealthy tourist help stimulate the economy if they spend money here?

Absolutely, but the tourist market does not have as much of an impact on the total city economy the business market does.

Office space means thousands people spending 40+ hours a week at the location. That cascades into commitments to residential space (saving on commute), steady restaurant/catering business (between meetings and breakfast/lunch hours), hotel bookings (for visitors to the businesses who operate there), use of mass transit (for those who don't move close by), etc.

Tourists can choose to vacation elsewhere without so much as a thought, and at no real penalty to do so. And although places like the shopping districts and tourist attractions take a hit wohtout that business, those who live in the city will still use a portion of these services anyway.

The long term vision of the city should be on keeping businesses, and not attracting tourists.

[NYguy]

^ That's exactly right. Though tourism is strong in the city, the long term goal is on attracting and retaining jobs.

[NYguy]

Another concept that reminds me very much of the Tower Verre...

http://www.ctbuh.org/Research/Design...S/Default.aspx

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[patriotizzy]

What the bloody hell is that!? O_O

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by patriotizzy

What the bloody hell is that!? O_O

It's a Chicago idea...

Chicago Architectural Center - Alfredo Lin

This project stretches the program, with the addition of a significant quantity of leasable office space, to create the tallest design solution of the group. Public space is interspersed throughout various levels of the tower, with the skyscraper museum on the upper most floors, and a public sky-garden at the tower’s pinnacle. This scheme integrates itself on the ground plane by tying into the existing retail of the adjacent building and the nearby underground Metra station. Much focus was put on the unique structural system, creating a woven steal shell from which the floor plates are hung within.

I like it. It reminds you that even at 1,050 ft, the Tower Verre can be a striking design, just not as significant as it could have been. (Still thinking about you Amanda Burden).

[thelanetrain17]

i like the building as well, just wish it was about 50 ft taller haha

[AtlantaMustang]

For the 1st second, that really scared me, until I realized that it was obviously not a new design for Tower Verre

[NYguy]

Missed this one...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/ar...ef=todayspaper
Tower Plan Clears Hurdle

By KATE TAYLOR;
Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF
September 21, 2010

One obstacle to construction of a tower designed by Jean Nouvel next to the Museum of Modern Art has been removed. Justice O. Peter Sherwood of State Supreme Court in Manhattan last week rejected a petition by nearby residents to have the project’s approvals by the City Council and the New York City Planning Commission overturned.

The petitioners — two local residents’ associations (the West 54-55 Street Block Association and the Coalition for Responsible Midtown Development) and three individual residents — oppose the planned tower, which is to include a hotel, residential apartments and space for the museum, on the ground that it would be too tall for the neighborhood.

In his decision Justice Sherwood said the Council and the Planning Commission had not acted irrationally or arbitrarily, as the petitioners had charged. Before approving it, the Planning Commission required that the tower’s height be reduced to 1,050 feet from 1,250 feet.

[RobertWalpole]

I knew that idiotic lawsuit would be dismissed.

Between Wall Street's record-breaking compensation this year and the very low dollar (which attracts foreign buyers), I'd be surprised if Hines does not break ground before the end of 2011 (unless there's a massive terrorist attack or a sovereign default in the EU which would derail the recovery).

[NYguy]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6966240.shtml

Architect Jean Nouvel Makes His Mark on N.Y.
The French Designer Is Adding Two Distinctive Projects to Gotham's Distinguished Skyline

An award-winning French architect is about to leave his mark on the world's most famous skyline: New York City. Anthony Mason reports:

October 17, 2010

When Jean Nouvel starts sketching ... something unexpected often happens:

"I like to play with architecture ¡ it's my favorite game," he chuckles.

He's designed the Agbar Tower in Barcelona, a concert hall in Copenhagen, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and the Arab World Institute on the banks of the Seine in Paris.

But the 65-year-old French architect is not yet a household name:

"My buildings are more famous than me," he said. He also prefers it that way.

Nouvel is a star in the world of architecture. Two years ago he won its highest honor, the Pritzker Prize.

"Everywhere he goes his project is the biggest of wherever it is," said Justin Davidson, the architecture critic for New York magazine.

"He also creates buildings that have a personality and have a real presence in a place. They're not timid."

Jean Nouvel grew up in southern France, the child of two high school teachers (geography and English). They wanted him to be a scientist. He wanted to be an artist:

"You went to your parents and said, 'I'm going to be a painter,' and they said . . . ?" asked Mason.

"No. No way."

So he used his drawing skills to imagine buildings.

He's now about to make his mark on America's biggest stage, designing two major structures in New York City:

"Was it important for you to make a statement in New York?" asked Mason.

"Of course!" he chuckled. "For an architect, to build in Manhattan, it's kind of a dream."

The first is a residential tower on Manhattan's West Side, with hundreds of irregularly-placed windows tilted at odd angles. He personally placed each window in the building.

From the outside they're designed to reflect the sun and the sky . . . from the inside, to frame the landscape.

"Here, of course, I wanted to catch all the panorama," he said.

In one bedroom he positioned a window so it could perfectly frame the Empire State Building:

"It's like a guardian during the night," he said while reclining on a bed.

Nouvel's other New York project is a building that could rival the Empire State Building . . . a soaring skyscraper that one critic said "promised to be the most exhilarating addition to the skyline in a generation."

"I try to play with the idea of a needle," he said.

The tower would be built on a tiny lot next to the Museum of Modern Art. In Nouvel's original design, the slender spire would have risen 75 stories, higher than the Chrysler Building and almost tall as the Empire State:

"Which is precisely what bothers some people," said Davidson. "For people who reacted negatively to the tower, it seemed arrogant."

Community groups fought the project. New York, a city of skyscrapers, seemed to be afraid of heights:

"Is Nouvel's building worthy of standing alongside the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building?" Mason asked.

"I think so," said Davidson. "It marks the period in which it's being designed so dramatically."

The architect has faced resistance before. There were questions about his striking Barcelona tower:

"Maybe people think I am sexual obsessed with this building!" he laughed. "It's not the case."

In fact, it was meant to echo the unusual rock pinnacles of nearby Montserrat.

And another Nouvel skyscraper, the so-called "Tower Without End," was never built, because of a housing slump in the nineties which left his Paris-based studio in bankruptcy.

He says it wasn't discouraging: "No, it's not in my character."

The City Council finally gave the go-ahead to build - but only if Nouvel chops 200 feet off the top.

"It's very French to cut the head, eh?" Nouvel laughed. "A guillotine!"

So at his Paris studio, Nouvel has gone back to the drawing board, working on a redesign, while his residential tower opened this summer.

"Do you like how it looks now?" he's asked.

"Yeah, I like that. Yes, it's exactly what we wanted."

His aim as an architect, he says, is to give pleasure to people: "I think architecture has to be a gift."

Jean Nouvel is leaving his gifts now across the skyline of the world.