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That empty lot next to MoMA on West 53rd Street isn't exactly aesthetically pleasing (unless there are prefab houses in it!), but would an 85 story tower be any better? Many fear that could be a reality, and are battling against the proposed development.
NY1 reports that real estate developer Hines purchased the lot from MoMA and plans to make the tower part hotel and part residential, but it would also house three gallery spaces for the museum (expanding their space by 39%). Even though zoning laws in the area prohibit such a large project, the developer also bought air rights which would allow it. One local declared, "The zoning laws were put into place to prevent canyons from developing. By that I mean having these enormous buildings on the side streets so that the light and air can't get down to the sidewalk."
The law firm repping the tower released a statement saying, "To clarify, the height of the new [MoMA/Hines] building at its very top is 1,250 feet. There will be 85 total stories, but only 82 occupiable stories. The top three stories contain mechanical elements. As a comparison, the top floor of the Empire State Building (102nd floor) is 1,250 feet in height, but the top of its spire is 1,454 feet." At a recent meeting concerning the project, architect Jean Nouvel declared, "I have the ambition to create a new landmark in the city---a landmark of our epoch."
The proposal has been approved by the Manhattan Borough President already, with the City Planning Commission expected to vote on September 9th, prior to going before the City Council.
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Love it. That might become one of the most famous buildings in New York.
People who want to preserve Midtown crack me up.
Buttface...crack you up...I see what you did there.
The one cool building being proposed for Midtown and out come the NIMBYs :(
i like the building, but can it PLEASE have less housing/hotel space.
Are they kidding?
These are the same people who would have opposed building the Empire State Building because it was on the site of the Old Waldorf Astoria.
This would be a new landmark for the city (the other renderings look even better)... and its being built on top of a LOT! A LOT!
at a time when architecture is going down the drain(see Atlantic Yards), and good developments are few and far between(see recession)... the city needs to approve this so it can get built..
The local whining about "canyons" is probably sad that her petunias won't get enough sunlight. Sorry, but you live in MIDTOWN MANHATTAN.
Something is going to go in that lot eventually. It might as well be an amazing building by a world renowned designer.
Way to be sneaky.
boing!
build that bitch. that's what we have manhattan for, to see who's got the biggest.
how much will it cost taxpayers????
Is this really going to be a landmark? The ESB is a landmark because you can see it from miles away - primarily because it's far and away the tallest building in its neighborhood. You can see it from New Jersey, downtown, etc. Is this building going to stand out? Sure it's tall but it also has a glass facade. And it looks like its footprint is a fraction of the ESB. Seems more likely to just blend in.
Love that building, but when's the last time an architect's design actually turned out to be the finished project?
YES! let the "monster" rise up.
Hell YEAH!
No lets drag down property values & hate the city skyline! A TALL BUILDING? IN NEW YORK? WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO?
(End sarcasm. Please please please build more landmark buildings!)
I live near MOMA and I am 100% not nimby. Build that shit! It looks good!
Just keep an eye on those damn cranes...
Of course, if MoMA wanted to build it, no problem!
MOMA is actually financing this tower in part. They are going to get some of the revenue generated from it, and some of the space in the building will be used for the museum...
so this is actually a MOMA related project...
and thus the title of the article is misleading,
Gothamist... check the facts on this.
Could we knock down MOMA and double the size?
I'm more BANANA than NIMBY (with the state of contemporary architecture, I expect most new buildings to be ugly), but if you are not going to build a tall building in Midtown Manhattan, where are you going to build it?
Looks cool.
yes. progress.
Looks to me like it'd be an iconic point in midtown, much needed after the downturn has caused so many other creative developments to be stalled or cancelled, and not to mention the gaping void of the WTC. Why people are opposed to this is beyond me, but then I've never really understood the anti-skyscraper mania of NY'ers, who just happen to choose to live in a city of skyscrapers.
Oh, and I love that the opposition actually called this bldg "not contextual"--er, a skyscraper doesn't fit in with its surrounding in MIDTOWN MANHATTAN? Gimme a break.
I don't usually object to well-designed towers in midtown, but this one seems out of scale for a mid-block address. True, for the fifth time, MoMA will use the zoning laws to expand their endowment and exhibition space. And the air rights deals simply take advantage of longstanding zoning laws.
Still and all, if it reaches 1250 feet, it will tie the Empire State for tallest building in town. The "spire" on Empire is, in fact, a broadcasting antenna considered, by the folks who decide these things, a "temporary addition" -- in fact, the third such device installed on the tower. The official height is therefore 1250 feet. And since the 53rd Street tower is on higher ground, it will appear taller from a distance.
Monsieur Nouvel, this needs to be a real killer!
I hate it because it's absolutely ugly. Why "random lines" is so popular these days, I'll never know.
I also find it laughable that anyone could think it could be even anywhere near as landmark a building as the Empire State.
The ESB has been around for 70 years and will be around for another 70, the Hines/MoMA building will just be "another" building if it even manages to last 70 years.