NEW YORK | 625 W.57th St. - Pyramid | 450ft | 32 fl | U/C

[seb.nl]

ohh wow, build this!

[kingsc]

That isn't a Pyramid, it looks more like a sail for a boat.

[desertpunk]

This one looks on track for a groundbreaking:

NY Observer

Hal Fetner on 1212 Fifth, 855 Sixth and More

Q: With West 57th Street, how did you connect with the architect Bjarke Ingels?

Douglas [Durst] spends a considerable amount of time in Denmark, and Douglas went over to Denmark one year and gave a lecture or a speech. The folklore is that, after the speech was over, Bjarke came up to Douglas and asked him why all his buildings looked like buildings. And they then struck up a conversation, and Douglas really enjoyed speaking with Bjarke.

So we really couldn’t decide what to do with West 57th Street—because the empty lot has gone through a lot of different plans—and one day Douglas said, ‘Why don’t we talk with Bjarke and see what he wants to do?’

But Bjarke is extremely brilliant, he’s innovative and he has lots of enthusiasm.

Q: Does this mark a renewed interest from developers in hiring so-called ‘starchitects’?

I’ve never bought into the term “starchitect,” I just never have. And you know what? I don’t know if it is back or if it’s not back but I’ll tell you this: I don’t think we necessarily needed a starchitect for West 57th Street. We needed innovative design. We needed somebody who could help us overcome certain obstacles of this site.

And for us, the largest obstacle was we have a spectacular building there right now called the Helena, and then I have an empty lot where I had to use up 800,000 square feet of FAR. So how do I do that and not block the views of the Helena? And Bjarke came up with a great idea, and from the river it’s a focal point to Manhattan.

Q: With West 57th Street as well as the other Durst Fetner projects, such as 1212 Fifth Avenue, where is the financing coming from?

We are extremely, extremely fortunate that we have banks who, the second we say we’re doing a rental, they’re all over us. And they want a piece of the deal. About 20 minutes ago I got an email from a banker I haven’t spoken to in four weeks saying, ‘Hey, want some update from you on how you’re making out on 30th Street.’ Why? Because they want a piece of that financing.

The underwriting today is definitely more stringent than it was years ago, but if you’re really not an A developer you don’t have the equity to put it up because the equity requirement is much more. And that’s assuming that they even want to make a loan to you.

So we have been very, very fortunate to enjoy really good relationships with a lot of strong banks.

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[Eric Offereins]

That looks really good.

[babybackribs2314]

I wrote a little article about the 'pyramid',

http://newyorkyimby.blogspot.com/201...e-on-57th.html

Designed by Bjarke Ingels, the 'Pyramid' of 57th street is set to rise 467 feet to the top. While that's still almost one-hundred feet shorter than the Pyramid of Giza, the new residential building will still be the tallest pyramidal structure in New York by a rather large margin.

Apparently construction has either begun or is about to begin on this project. I found it interesting how this is rising right next to Mercedes House--a neighborhood full of architectural innovation.

[Wunderknabe]

Very cool design indeed, I would like to see this being build.

[TheZoolooMaster]

The architect behind this project; he introduces it near the end of the talk.
I hope this is still going ahead.

[yankeesfan1000]

Thanks for the video. That article desertpunk posted sounds promising. The rental market in New York is very strong. Rental vacancies were recently reported to be at about .95%, less than 1 percent. This should break ground in the spring.

[desertpunk]

Reports of activity at the site. Anybody know what's up?

Originally Posted by Czervik.Construction

I think there is some life springing up on this site. There is a new drill rig on site as of yesterday. Who knows if that is significant....

.

[RobertWalpole]

The NY Times reported last week that construction this spring.

[HK999]

Man, NY is on a roll. NY projects may be lacking in height, but they certainly make up for designwise: This pyramid, Tower Verre, One57, 400 PAS, Beekman, 56 Leonard, 99 Church, 2WTC, Hudson Yards, Clinton Park ("The Stairs") etc. - each one more architecturally exciting than the other.

[Jay]

Lacking height? Half the buildings you just mentioned are supertalls

[desertpunk]

NY Observer

SCOPE-ing Out West 57th Street: Art Fair Takes Over Durst Pyramid Site
By Matt Chaban 3/12 6:30pm



Next month, one of the most anticipated groundbreakings is set to take place at the corner of 57th Street and the Hudson River. There, the Durst Organization will sink its shovels in preparation for Bjarke Ingel’s unusual apartment pyramid. Before that fanfare begins, another triangular structure has quietly risen on the lot, only the latest project to occupy the not-quite dormant site. The giant white tent is this year’s home for nomadic SCOPE art fair.

“I was hoping if we built it, they would come, and so far, they have come,” Alexis Hubshman said. “This is easily our best year yet.”

It does not hurt that the tent is just a block north of Pier 94, where the Armory Show has camped out for the past few decades. “I would be lying if I said that the convenience of it wasn’t important,” Mr. Hubshman said.

[...]

[TheHitch22]

Wow this building is gorgeous.

[rencharles]

April has come, will we have some news?

[yankeesfan1000]

Originally Posted by rencharles

April has come, will we have some news?

On Sunday I drove past the site coming home from an Easter lunch and there's a backhoe and pilling machine on site that are relatively new. Groundbreaking was reported for sometime this month very recently, so I'd expect to see some more machinery on site in the coming week or two and full construction in the next 2-4 weeks for sure.

[Josedc]

this is really nice!

[600West218]

Wow, does look interesting.

I'll try to go by there this coming weekend and see whats up.

[rencharles]

Good news. This is a good project, it will be nice to see it being built.

[ThatOneGuy]

Instant New York icon.