Opponents raised concerns about impact on Empire State Building, while the Council focused on Vornado’s participation in Minority- and Womenowned Business Enterprise program. On August 25, 2010, the City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to construct a commercial tower rising approximately 1,200 feet on Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The site is occupied by the Hotel Pennsylvania, which Vornado plans to demolish in order to build the project, known as 15 Penn Plaza.

Vornado proposed developing a 67-story, single-tenant building or a 68-story, multi-tenant building in order to provide development flexibility. Vornado agreed to provide a host of transit improvements in exchange for a development bonus necessary to build either proposal. The proposed improvements include reopening and renovating the Gimbels/ West 33rd Street Passageway, and relocating subway entrances at West 32nd and West 33rd Streets.

During the project’s public review, Manhattan Community Board 5 opposed the project, arguing that the proposed transit improvements did not justify the tower’s size. Malkin Holdings LLC, owner of the Empire State Building, argued that the tower would negatively impact the iconic skyscraper, and asked that the proposal’s height be reduced. (read more…)