While it might not be as, uh, edgy as the Torre Verre, Hines unveiled another new Manhattan project today, one with a location even more enticing than next to MoMA. The Houston-based developer will construct a 28-story office tower at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 40th Street, across from Bryant Park.
It is only the latest stage in the park’s transformation. Not only is there ‘Wich Craft and movie in the park now, instead of muggers and drugs, but it is also lined some of the shiniest new baubles in the city, including the Dursts’ eponymous tower and the recently reclad Verizon and HSBC buildings. And we still haven’t gotten a look at the project Lord Norman Foster has planned for the Bryant Park Hotel.
As for this one, it is up to Hines’ typically stachitecture-struck standards, featuring the work of Pei Cobb Freed principal Henry Cobb. His most recent marquee project was the new Goldman Sachs headquarters at 200 West Street downtown—a building this new one very much resembles, a cross between it and Durst’s crystalline confection. Just like the latter, Hines’ tower is all about the park, with concave corners that meet at a point, creating unique views of the greensward below.
“The building was conceived in response to the extraordinary circumstance of its location at the corner of Bryant Park,” Mr. Cobb said in a release. “The hourglass facade detail will be a lens through which building occupants can view the park with dramatic and alluring immediacy.”
It will not have the pride of place on the skyline that One Bryant Park or the MoMA Tower do, rising to only 28 as-of-right stories, with 450,000 square feet inside. There is, of course, the usual LEED chasing, an unusual curved stainless steel orb at the entrance that serves as both a canopy and a sculptural piece, and two terraces at a setback overlooking the park. The project, built in partnership with Pacolet Milliken, which has owned the site since 1954, could begin construction as soon as next year and be completed by 2014.
The developers seem to be following in the steps of 510 Madison, creating a boutique building aimed at flush clients but not corporations—your run of the mill hedge funds, law firms and fashion houses. “We are privileged to develop a project that combines such an exceptional location with a distinguished design,” said Tommy Craig, Hines senior vice president in charge of the Tri-State region. “It will be a singular opportunity for mid-sized tenants in the midtown market.”
