Buildings rise from Manhattan to Queens, and a safety campaign is introduced.

3 WTC Tops Out

Three World Trade Center (3 WTC) topped out on June 23. Located at 175 Greenwich Street, 3 WTC reached its final height of 1,079 ft (80 stories). New York YIMBY reported that other construction and glass installation still need to be completed prior to the building’s anticipated 2018 opening. It will join 7 World Trade Center, which opened in 2006; 4 World Trade Center, which opened in 2013; One World Trade Center (1 WTC), which opened in 2014; and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, the main concourse of which opened in March.

One Vanderbilt Progresses

Business Online has reported on the One Vanderbilt development slated for East Midtown. In a construction deal worth approximately US$1 billion, SL Green Realty Corp. chose Tishman Construction to manage the construction of the 58-story office development located adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. Additionally, New York YIMBY noted in June that demolition at the site had begun. The high rise will contain 1.6 million sq. ft. of class-A commercial space, a public transit hall and a 14,000-sq.-ft. public plaza. The development will also include US$220 million worth of public transit improvements to the Grand Central transit hub.

When complete, the building is expected to be the second-tallest office tower in the city at 1,401 sq. ft., behind One World Trade Center, also built by Tishman. Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the building to pay homage to the Grand Central Terminal and fit into the skyline alongside the Chrysler Building, located only a block away from the site. The developers are aspiring to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design v4 Gold certification. Primary construction is scheduled to begin soon, with completion expected in 2020.

Artistic Residential Tower Completes in Brooklyn

A 32-story residential tower clad in a reflective, silvery metal skin and designed by Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos, is all but complete in the Fort Greene district of Brooklyn, dezeen reported. Residents of 300 Ashland (ELEVATOR WORLD, September 2014) were expected to start moving in over the summer. Two Trees Management is the developer of the project, which features glass balconies; more than 350 apartments; 43,000 sq. ft. of retail; and 50,000 sq. ft. for a dance studio, library, art museum and cinema.

NYC Safety Campaign Targets Elevators

The New York City (NYC) Department of Buildings issued a public service announcement on elevators as part of its “Stay Safe. Stay Put.” campaign to reduce deaths and injuries. Advertisements are being run in print, bus-shelter spaces, radio spots and in video form. As run in the New York Daily News in July, they stress for entrapped passengers to not leave a stalled elevator until being assisted by emergency responders. They also instruct them to ring the alarm, relax and refrain from attempting to pry open the doors. An announcement also stated that five people died, and 51 were injured in 56 elevator accidents across the city last year. This is a significant reduction in injuries since 2007, when the figure was 105.

51-Story Building Plans for Upper West Side Released

The 666-ft.-tall 200 Amsterdam Avenue for the lower blocks of Manhattan’s Upper West Side was revealed in June. To become the neighborhood’s tallest building, the former synagogue site was acquired for US$275 million in 2015 by SJP Properties. The developer has since gained US$160 million in financing from Mitsui Fudosan. New York YIMBY reports Elkus Manfredi Architects is designing the exteriors, while CetraRuddy is being contracted for the interiors. The building will house 400,000 sq. ft. over 51 floors containing 112 residences averaging in excess of 3,000 sq. ft. each.

The site sits on the west side of Amsterdam Avenue between West 68th and 69th streets, bridging the taller buildings of the southern bounds of the Upper West Side (Lincoln Square) and the rest of the Upper West Side, where towers are much shorter. The newly completed 160 West 62nd Street stands as the tallest building in Lincoln Square at 598 ft., while on the Upper West Side proper, the San Remo is the tallest at 400 ft. No completion date has been announced.

Office Towers for LIC’s Queens Plaza Area

Tishman Speyer, with codeveloper Qatari Diar of Doha, Qatar, is planning to build One and Three Gotham Center office towers at 28-07 Jackson Avenue in the Queens Plaza area of Long Island City, New York YIMBY reported. Designed by MdeAS Architects of New York City, the towers are planned at 27 stories and 396 ft. tall containing 1.1. million sq. ft. Joining the 22-story One Gotham Center, they will be connected by a four-story base containing retail and a parking garage. Construction is expected to start in early 2017, with completion anticipated in 2019. As of July, approximately 800,000 sq. ft. had already been pre-leased.