logo CityLand
      • Home
      • About CityLand
      • CityLand Sponsors
      • Filings & Decisions
      • Commentary
      • Archive
      • Resources
      • CityLaw
      • Current Issue

    Commission OKs 63-story Lexington Ave. tower


    City Planning Commission  •  Special Permit/Rezoning  •  Midtown, Manhattan
    08/15/2008   •    Leave a Comment
    Lord Norman Foster-designed 63-story tower at 610 Lexington would use air rights from Seagram Plaza. Image: Foster + Partners.

    Transfer of air rights from landmarked Seagram Building facilitates construction. On July 2, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved the special permit and zoning text amendment proposed by developer Aby Rosen, allowing his 63-story project at 610 Lexington to proceed to City Council for a vote. The proposed mixed-use building on the southwest corner of 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue would stand approximately 712 feet tall, with 282,027 sq.ft. of floor area, including a restaurant, bar, and hotel uses on the first through 52nd floors and residential use on the top ten stories.

    Rosen requested a special permit to transfer 200,965 sq.ft. of unused floor area from the landmarked Seagram Building, a building owned by Rosen, leaving 212 sq.ft. of unused floor area on the Seagram lot. This transfer required Landmarks’ approval of a preservation plan for the Seagram Building, which Rosen obtained in 2007.

    The Lord Norman Foster designed building would consist of a nine-story podium fronting Lexington Avenue and a 63-story tower set back 56 feet from Lexington Avenue and separated from the Seagram Building by less than 150 feet. In addition to the air rights transfer, Rosen requested a text change to the Special Midtown District to allow additional modifications for height and setback, inner court regulations, minimum distance between required windows and lot lines, accessory off-street loading berths, and pedestrian circulation space.

    The Planning Commission approved the applications without modification despite concerns of Community Board 5 and Borough President Scott Stringer that the project lacked an off-street loading berth and set a potentially dangerous precedent by allowing a text change to the Special Midtown District for one building. In its approval, the Commission found that the lack of an off-street loading berth would not significantly add vehicular congestion due to the small amount of event space within the hotel. It stressed that further development of the Seagram Plaza was unlikely given that only 212 sq.ft. of unused floor area remained. The Commission noted that any disadvantages associated with the approval would be more than offset by the developer’s maintenance plan for the Seagram Building.

    Review Process
    Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
    Comm.Bd.: MN 5,App’d, 36-0-1
    Boro.Pres.:Den’d
    CPC: App’d, 10-1-0
    Council: Pending

    CPC: 610 Lexington Avenue (C 080178 ZSM – special permit); (N 080177 ZRM – text amend.) (July 2, 2008). CITYADMIN

    Share this:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email
    Tags : 610 Lexington Avenue, Aby Rosen, Lord Norman Foster, Manhattan Community Board 5, Seagram Building, Special Midtown District
    Category : City Planning Commission

    Comment on this article

    Click here to cancel reply.

    Subscribe To Free Alerts

    In a Reader

    Desktop Reader Bloglines Google Live Netvibes Newsgator Yahoo! What's This?

    Follow Us on Social Media

    twitterfacebook

    Search

    Search by Category

      City Council
      CityLaw
      City Planning Commission
      Board of Standards & Appeals
      Landmarks Preservation Commission
      Economic Development Corporation
      Housing Preservation & Development
      Administrative Decisions
      Court Decisions
      Filings and Decisions
      CityLand Profiles

    Search by Date

    © 1997-2010 New York Law School | 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 | 212.431.2100 | Privacy | Terms | Code of Conduct | DMCA | Policies
     

    Loading Comments...
     

      loading Cancel
      Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
      Email check failed, please try again
      Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.