The New York City Council voted on Wednesday to allow the proposed development at the site currently occupied by the Grand Hyatt Hotel at 175 Park Avenue. New Greater East Midtown zoning rules permit developers to construct supersized towers if they are accompanied by hefty contributions to transit and public amenities. In addition to the construction of a 2.9-million-square-foot (269,418 square meters) 1,575-foot-high (480-meter-high) building with retail and office space, a new 500-room hotel, a sky lobby, a lounge, and a restaurant, the site will include 25,000 square feet (2,322 square meters) of elevated, publicly accessible terraces that will host cultural and arts events. The project also promises to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in transit improvements.
The new project, developed by TF Cornerstone and RXR Realty, will be designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); pre-construction will be done by AECOM Tishman.
The project was approved in February 2021 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and entered the uniform land use review procedure last May. 175 Park Avenue will rise on the other side of Grand Central from One Vanderbilt, a 1,401-foot (427-meter) office tower that opened this past September.
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