Hines Interests’ proposed tower at 53 West 53rd Street. Image: Ateliers Jean Nouvel.

Commission expressed doubts about whether Jean Nouvel-designed tower should equal Empire State Building. On September 9, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved a modified version of Hines Interests’ proposal to build an 85-story, 1,250-foot tall mixed-used building, which would reach the Empire State Building’s height below its antenna, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art complex at 53 West 53rd Street in Midtown, Manhattan. The 19,615 sq.ft. through-block site is located in the Special Midtown District, and portions of its zoning lot are within four zoning districts: the C5-2.5, C5-3, C5-P, and C6-6 districts. The MoMA complex, the landmarked St. Thomas Church, the American Folk Art Museum, and the Museum Tower condominiums are all located on the project’s zoning lot.

Hines’ proposal called for a 658,306 sq.ft. tower that would include museum, hotel, and residential uses. MoMA would create a 51,949 sq.ft. gallery and exhibition space on the second through fifth floor that would connect internally to its neighboring building. A hotel would occupy floors eight through 17, providing 147,945 sq.ft. of space for approximately 167 rooms, and floors 19 through 81 would provide 458,412 sq.ft. of residential space. The hotel’s lobby would occupy the ground floor, and it would use the cellar-space as a restaurant. Hines would build a residential entrance on West 54th Street. (read more…)