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New Era for Skyscrapers

Elliot Brown
Wall Street Journal
September 08, 2013

The managing partner of JDS Development Group and his partners at Property Markets Group are planning a skinny, ultra-luxury condo tower on West 57th Street, which will be about 100 feet taller than the Empire State Building. The venture's plans for the tower submitted last month to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission call for an approximately 1,350-foot skyscraper that sets back from the street numerous times as it reaches higher—resembling tall, thin steps.

"It's really going to enhance the skyline," says Vishaan Chakrabarti, a partner at SHoP Architects, which designed the tower. He says the planned tower would be clad with bronze-and-white terra-cotta stripes, so the building "sparkles during the day and has a soft glow at night."

It remains unclear whether the venture has obtained financing, a crucial element for any development, especially at a time that many banks are still reluctant to make loans for condo projects. A spokesman for JDS declined to comment on the financing, but said the developer hopes to break ground early next year.

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In addition to its height, the building is notable for being so thin. Its lot is just 43-feet wide, according to city records, and many of the floors would be 4,000 to 5,000 square feet in size, Mr. Chakrabarti says.

The building is slated to include many full-floor apartments with views all around. "There will be moments in these apartments where you can see Midtown to the south and Central Park to the north," he says.

If built, the tower would be by far the most notable development by Mr. Stern, 34 years old, a relative newcomer to New York City real estate. He's best known for converting the Walker Tower in Chelsea to condos, along with Property Markets Group. Mr. Stern has since made multiple other acquisitions, and he's planning a pair of flashy apartment towers on Manhattan's East Side.

Mr. Stern and Property Markets Group are planning to convert the Steinway Building into an apartment building and transfer its development rights. The new tower must get approval from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission because it's next door to the Steinway building site, which is a city landmark.

Last week, the landmarks committee of the neighborhood community board voted to give a nonbinding endorsement of the plan. The full community board is set to take up the issue this week.

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