[NYguy]

More info and graphics on the 1 Penn Plaza reno can be found here...

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning...cp021m-eas.pdf

E. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT


One Penn Plaza, designed by Kahn and Jacobs and completed in 1972, is a 57-story, 2.5 million gsf skyscraper. Set back on raised bonused plazas and entered through dark arcades on both 33rd and 34th Streets, the building was a strong form in the skyline but violated what is now known to be good urban planning principles for public space interaction with the street. The plazas, as originally designed, are separated and elevated from the sidewalk in many locations. This separation, coupled with a lack of amenities, serves to make many of these areas underutilized as passive open space for the pedestrian. Later alterations built wider and more extensive planters at the building’s perimeter, which made the plazas less accessible and the lobby entrances and retail less visible and inviting.

The Proposed Project is part of an overall building repositioning to provide a modern lobby and an improved tenant experience that will reframe how the building and the plazas provide an inviting public realm within its commercial neighborhood. The current lobby, which is set back 50 feet from the sidewalk, will be extended to within 15 feet of the street line, and the proposed 35-foot-tall, 90-foot-wide glass lobby will provide visual transparency and will better engage with the street. Pedestrian circulation and visual transparency into the public plazas and arcades will be improved and plaza areas within the property will be upgraded with new landscaping, seating, lighting, and finishes.

At least there will be a new entrance to Penn at the other end of 34th Street...