NEW YORK CITY—By a unanimous vote, the New York City Council has approved plans for SL Green Realty Corp.'s One Vanderbilt office tower. Construction of the 63-story building—located directly west of Grand Central Terminal—is expected to start immediately, beginning with the demolition of the site.
“Featuring world-class architecture, pioneering sustainability standards, and modern flexible floor-plates that global companies demand, One Vanderbilt will usher in an exciting new era for East Midtown,” declares Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green. “One Vanderbilt will deliver critically-needed, state-of-the-art Class A office space and dramatically upgrade Grand Central's aging, over-burdened transit infrastructure. As the largest owner of commercial property in New York City, we are proud to set a new standard for unsubsidized commercial development and create a blueprint for a truly 21st-century Midtown Manhattan.”
As part of the project, the developer will invest $220 million in public infrastructure, constructing new, direct subway access points and circulation areas, easing platform and mezzanine crowding and allowing trains to move more quickly through the station at peak hours.
Approximately two thirds of the $220 million in public infrastructure funding will go to enhancing connections and circulation spaces along the congested Lexington Avenue 4/5/6 subway line. One Vanderbilt also will create direct subgrade connections to Long Island Railroad East Side Access, Metro North and New York City Transit subway lines.
In addition, SL Green will create a new public plaza on Vanderbilt Avenue adjacent to Grand Central as well as two transit halls at the base of the tower. The full package of improvements is slated for completion by 2021, as is completion of the building.
Bounded by Vanderbilt and Madison Avenues—between East 42nd and East 43rd Streets—the skyscraper will be 1,501 feet tall and contain 1.6 million square feet of Class A commercial space. It features open floor plans, efficient use of space, and sustainable design.
TD Bank will anchor approximately 200,000 square feet of space on site, including a flagship retail store on the northeast corner of 42nd Street and Madison Avenue.
“Thank you to our partners in government for their leadership in helping make One Vanderbilt a reality, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, City Planning chair Carl Weisbrod, Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council member Dan Garodnick, Manhattan Borough president Gale Brewer and the entire New York City Council,” says Holliday. “Thank you also to our dedicated partners at the Coalition for a Better Grand Central. Together we will deliver East Midtown's newest commercial skyscraper and create a better Grand Central for everyone
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
