Jean Nouvel-designed tower requires air rights transfer from two nearby landmarks. The University Club, located on the corner of West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue, and St. Thomas Church, located at West 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue, sought Landmarks’ approval for the sale of their developable air rights to Hines Realty. The sale would allow Hines to construct a 75-story mixed-use tower in the vacant mid-block lot adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art. The tower would house MoMA galleries, a restaurant, a hotel, and residential apartments.

St. Thomas argued that proceeds from the sale would go towards an ongoing stained-glass restoration project, while the University Club claimed that the sale would help mitigate costs related to structural damage in its basement and ground floor.

Jean Nouvel testified that the tower would be consistent with the City’s history of skyscrapers and bring energy to the neighborhood, creating a sense of lightness to the existing, low-lying MoMA building. Hines representatives echoed Nouvel’s testimony by providing renderings that they claimed showed that the proposed tower would not cast shadows on neighboring landmarks. (read more…)