NEW YORK: 1515 Broadway; another makeover? - Page 3

skyfan · #41 Posted **May 2, 2007, 11:13 PM**

This is not a very good trend, remember that the destruction of historic buildings wasn't just limited to demolition. All sorts of horrors were committed like covering ornate lobbies with drop celings, all in the name of mondernization. We should be cautious to not make the same mistakes that were made in 1950's and 60's, remember that Art Deco was once thought of as outdated and ugly. Upgrading the building systems is one thing, but changing the fundamental architectural elements is something that should be off limits

antinimby · #42 Posted **May 2, 2007, 11:24 PM**

^^ Couldn't have said it better myself.

Lecom · #43 Posted **May 3, 2007, 12:03 AM**

Antinimby, I know I haven't replied to your PM, but I'll definitely get those two forms going as soon as I get to the tech center (wjhere we can edit Adobe files), so I expect them to be done in a couple of days or so. Thanks for sending those in, and thanks for giving enough of a damn about NYC architecture legacy to care enough to look up those forms and sending them to me.

KevinFromTexas · #44 Posted **May 3, 2007, 4:37 AM**

So wait, this is the 2nd redo?? I had no idea. And I agree, the facade redo on Verizon sucks. I love those trippy vertical lines.

1515 Broadway definitely is a classic. I've always sort of thought it looks like something from Australia, Melbourne or Sydney.

Lost Island · #45 Posted **May 15, 2007, 3:09 AM**

'70s architecture fans unite!

Love that crown. A midtown icon. How could they?!!

NYguy · #46 Posted **May 22, 2007, 8:48 PM**

http://www.globest.com/news/912_912/.../160829-1.html

545 Madison Ave. Set for Class A Conversion

By Katie Hinderer

NEW YORK CITY-The Plaza District’s 545 Madison Ave. is going to be renovated into a trophy office building. Real estate firm LCOR Inc. is handling the conversion and released plans for the property late Monday afternoon. A request for further comment on the project including construction cost was not returned by deadline.

“This rare opportunity to recreate a Plaza District office building from scratch will allow us to provide space to an upscale, yet limited, tenant roster of 17 or fewer boutique firms,” says David Sigman, SVP of LCOR. Tenants are expected to take a full floor once construction completes and the building opens again for occupancy.

The 17-story building on the corner of 55th Street will be completely stripped to the structure and then developed into a class A office building. A floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall will be installed, as well as new, top quality electrical, HVAC and mechanical systems. Once renovations are complete, executives at LCOR say the building will qualify for LEED gold standard.

“And as a green building, tenants can enjoy improved indoor air quality, which can boost employee productivity and reduce absenteeism,” Sigman says. “The increase in energy efficiency can reduce their costs further. The LEED certification will be a win for the building’s tenants and for the earth as well.”

In November, LCOR leased the building for 75 years. After construction, which the demolition phase began in March, the building will be 140,000 sf. The first tenants are slated to be able to move in by spring 2008. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Peter Riguardi, Frank Doyle, Lisa Kiell and David Kleiner will exclusively lease the office space; while CB Richard Ellis’ Susan Kurland will handle the retail leases.

“545 Madison will offer the kind of top-tier quality space that only a handful of buildings in the city possess,” Sigman says. “The building is destined to become the new jewel of Madison Avenue.”

Patrick · #47 Posted **May 23, 2007, 6:17 AM**

Fuck this LEED crap, every new building "says" they have it just to make the building sound more advance.

Jularc · #48 Posted **May 23, 2007, 6:08 PM**

Very sad news. I will probably cry and feel like someone has just die when they start to dismantle that unique and memorable crown.

The new facade looks nice actually (better than the Verizon one) but I rather they build a new tower like that somewhere else. So much waste.

Jularc · #49 Posted **May 23, 2007, 6:14 PM**

Seems like London is doing the same with their old towers... http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=846

Matt · #50 Posted **Jun 1, 2007, 5:15 PM**

1515 Broadway is beautiful just the way she is!!! As many have said, the building is an icon of Midtown and the unique crown has been commanding attention since the 1970s. This is an absolute travesty! At what point will everything in New York be a generic, bland, glass curtain wall? Verizon, as well, was one of my favorite buildings in the city. Nothing beat the view of Verizon from 6th and 34th. Oh well, so much for architectural diversity...

And I agree with the comment several posts above... New York is not moving in a positive direction at all. Or should I say, "New York as presented by Disney"?

NYguy · #51 Posted **Jun 9, 2007, 10:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

And I agree with the comment several posts above... New York is not moving in a positive direction at all. Or should I say, "New York as presented by Disney"?

Not quite accurate, but the "Disneyfied" New York has been bringing in the dollars, and that's what the City needs.

NYguy · #52 Posted **Jun 9, 2007, 10:46 AM**

This move has been planned for a while...
http://www.costar.com/News/Article.a...C77E9F602B617F

Media & Entertainment Firm to Begin Occupancy in November

Media conglomerate Viacom International Inc. has signed a new lease for more than 400,000 square feet of office space at 345 Hudson St. in Manhattan.

Viacom, whose holdings include MTV Networks, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, will fully occupy floors two through nine, plus a portion of the basement, at its new location for a total occupancy of 402,733 square feet. Viacom will begin moving operations to the building in November. The firm is headquartered in the One Astor Plaza office tower at 1515 Broadway.

The 17-story 345 Hudson building was constructed in 1931 and totals 797,477 square feet in the Hudson Square district.

Tom Lynch handled the deal in-house for the landlord, Trinity Church. Scott Gottlieb, Michael Laginestra and Andrew Sussman of CBRE represented Viacom.

Derek2k32 · #53 Posted **Jun 16, 2007, 5:08 PM**

Inefficient curtain walls can be replaced while still maintaining the orignal architectural integrity. The first all glass skyscraper in New York, Lever House, was reclad just a couple of years ago and looks exactly the same. As someone said before, the look of most of these recladdings is due to improve the bldgs. "curb appeal."

NYguy · #54 Posted **Jun 20, 2007, 10:19 PM**

http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/propert..._id=1003601133

GVA Williams Repositioning 655 Madison into Luxury Office

June 20, 2007
By Amanda Marsh, Associate Editor

A major renovation is underway at 655 Madison Ave., a 25-story office tower in the Plaza District of Manhattan. Principals of GVA Williams, who are the general partners of Plaza Madison Associates, will reposition the building as a luxury office tower.

Changes to the building (pictured) will include a new façade, renovated terraces, installation of new glass walls, a state-of-the-art lobby, new elevator cabs, upgraded mechanical systems and new bathrooms.

The vacant floors will be completely gutted and built out to fit the needs of individual tenants moving in. The renovations, which will be completed by next year, amount to the virtually complete construction of a brand new building in the Plaza District.

A build out price has not been released yet, but the Plaza District’s market conditions are “extremely strong” and justify the costly renovations at this time, Jerome Cohen, GVA Williams’ chairman, told CPN. “We have an enormous amount of confidence in the property, and we wanted to make it one of the best in the area.”

And the Plaza District conditions are indeed strong--office rents command between $125 and $150 per square foot for some of the best spaces. Another repositioning project is taking place at 545 Madison, which LCOR Inc. is gutting and transforming into a Class A office tower with a minimum silver-LEED rating.

655 Madison houses retail tenants such as Donna Karan, Anne Klein and Anya Hindmarch, as well as office tenants Loews and Estée Lauder. This is the second major renovation project to the building, which was built in 1951 and purchased by Williams Real Estate Co. (now GVA Williams) in 1971. Shortly afterwards, the ownership upgraded the building by relocated the main entrance and lobby from Madison Avenue to East 60th St., which allowed for an increase in retail space on the building’s Madison Avenue Side.

Along with renovations, approximately 90,000 square feet of space may become available, including a contiguous block of 55,000 square feet, as some tenant leases expire around the same time. Cohen said that GVA Williams has already received several inquiries for space in the building.

Architect Richard Hayden of Swanke Hayden Connell will design and oversee the transformation of the building’s exterior and public areas. The firm also designed and supervised replacements of 320 Park Avenue and 130 East 59th St.’s facades, designed Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue and 58th St. and redesigned One New York Plaza in Lower Manhattan. Hayden was also hired by the U.S. government to restore the Statue of Liberty.

NYguy · #55 Posted **Jun 20, 2007, 10:33 PM**

Another look at 1515 Broadway (Astor Plaza)

__

America 117 · #56 Posted **May 12, 2008, 5:42 PM**

are they joking cant they just leave it alone?

America 117 · #57 Posted **May 12, 2008, 5:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick

Fuck this LEED crap, every new building "says" they have it just to make the building sound more advance.

well the world trade center is being built with LEED but just leave the other buildings alone. before you know it they will try to make the empire state building LEED.

they are changing the NY archetecture