It’s funny how a story comes about sometimes.
Following the news that Coach is poised to sign a lease at Hudson Yard, the first of possibly a dozen, a reader wrote in with a simple question: How tall is the bag-maker’s new redoubt? We turned to Google but there was no clear answer, so we asked around to our sources who know the site. Answer: about 1,000 feet. Also, a gentle reminder that, because this is one of the few pieces being built on terra firma, as soon as said lease and some financing is in place, construction can commence and be done by 2015.
What is interesting about this news is it sheds a little more light on the gigantic project and just how big it really is. At 1,000 feet, the KPF-designed south tower would be in the top five tallest buildings in the city, just barely ahead of 7 World Trade and right around the Chrysler Building—if we’re counting antennas, it’s technically surpassed by the Times Building, the old AIG tower and One Bryant Park, but everyone knows you shouldn’t count the antennas, much as Douglas Durst might like to.
Furthermore, a rendering The Observer unearthed back in December reveals this is potentially the shortest of the three commercial towers Related has planned. The rendering above, taken from that wild video, shows only two towers, though this is still a good deal shorter. The eastern flank of Hudson Yards could well surpass the 1,000-foot mark, possibly challenging Steve Roth and Tony Malkin‘s prides of place on the skyline. Our source preferred not to disclose details of the other towers, saying there is “flexibility” in the ultimate design.
Viewed in repose alongside the other buildings in the project in this rendering, it becomes clear that the residential buildings are pretty big, too. This really is like taking a huge chunk of midtown and and the Upper East Side, jamming it together, and plopping it down on two blocks of Hudson River real estate. Then again, 26 million square feet of development have to be wedged in somewhere.
mchaban@observer.com :: Follow on Twitter @MC_NYC
