Walking down the High Line, I was greeted by a view of the Hudson Yards. The glass towers represent architectural splendor and prominence as the largest private development project in the United States, ever. As big as it is, nothing in New York City stays the same, and unfortunately, Hudson Yards is no exception. In a few years, the Hudson Yards could be dwarfed and rivaled by a new generation of skyscrapers. In a decade, even the Empire State Building could risk being overshadowed by this era of construction in New York City, and it is already beginning to take shape.
When I walk through Manhattan, I rarely ever look up to see the towering skyscrapers; why would I need to? All of the giant buildings are either hotels, luxury apartments, or office buildings.
I was about to buy a bacon egg and cheese sandwich but my stomach, and my heart, were saddened to see that the bodega I had known since I was in middle school was closed down. In fact, that entire section of the block was closed down. A note on the door of one of the closed down buildings read that there will be a new high-rise building to be developed in that area. They were going to redevelop the block and local businesses had to move elsewhere.
It was then that I felt the need to start looking up.
Every new building in all five boroughs had to demolish something in order to stand proud. The construction of supertalls tell the story, or battle rather, between large developers and the local communities of New York.
The following construction projects will profoundly redefine New York’s skyline and pose a significant problem to those trying to preserve it. The Torch, 270 Park Avenue, Project Commodore, and the Empire Station Complex are just some of the revolutionary construction projects in Manhattan that will completely change – or threaten – New York City’s architectural legacy.
The Torch, a revolutionary building for New York, is beautifully unpleasant; the design is nothing like anything Manhattan has and makes it seem like the city is having an identity crisis with such a novel architectural design for the city. Rising 1,067 feet into the air, the Torch is designed by Extell, the same real-estate developers who designed Central Park Tower.
One of the most exciting features of the Torch is that it will feature the first sky-high amusement park ride in the city. A drop ride will be available for the public to ride starting from the building’s top to its base. In addition to this one-of-a-kind ride in the city, the Torch will become one of the few new supertall skyscrapers with publicly-accessible views.
270 Park Avenue, designed by Foster + Partners, will be New York City’s largest carbon-zero tower and the headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. It will be 1,388 feet tall, adding 2.5 million square feet to New York City real estate. Its design will not be as bold as the other projects as its geometric design honors the art-deco architecture of New York City, but the tower’s height places it among the city’s tallest once completed in 2025.
The tower will feature advanced green-technology, such as advanced water conservation systems, adaptive electrical systems that incorporate AI to bring only as much power as needed, with all of the building’s energy coming from a local hydroelectric plant. The tower is also built using 97% recycled materials from the demolition of the building before it. 270 Park Avenue has become a model for green construction in the city and has posed the least amount of challenges for local communities.
Project Commodore is a construction project designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill that has been approved for construction in 2023. It pays tribute to the art-deco heritage of some of New York’s most famous buildings; the Chrysler and Empire State. It will add over 2.5 million square feet of modern office space across 89 floors. At a height between 1,600-1,700 feet, it will be taller than the Central Park Tower, currently New York City’s second tallest behind the One World Trade Center. By roof height, the Commodore will even surpass One World Trade Center, which is only 1,368 feet to the top floor. With the spire however, One World Trade Center still remains the tallest building in the US with a symbolic height of 1,776 feet.
One must take into account that the Commodore is a bold testament to Midtown East’s iconic skyline; the tower’s gothic crown and refusal to be slender will contrast against the One Vanderbilt and boxy MetLife building. The design of the tower gives it a sense of grandeur that other towers do not.
The Empire Station Complex is a proposal originally pushed by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The project was meant to serve as a way to generate revenue for redeveloping Penn Station and for the Gateway project, which is a transit plan made to build tunnels beneath the Hudson River and increase travel flow.
Once Cuomo resigned however, Kathy Hochul continued supporting Cuomo’s original plan for the area around Penn Station with 10 new buildings, 3 of which will be supertall, exceeding 984 feet. Vornado Realty Trust is the development company responsible for designing and planning of the project. The Empire Station Complex will add over 20 million square feet of office space, retail, and hotel space.
Yet the projects, despite their impressive designs and features, bring with them controversy and uncertainty.
There exists the problem that the Torch might be too radical of a design for Midtown, New York. Despite its smaller size compared to the other projects, the Torch could be a hard pill to swallow for native New Yorkers as the building stands so oddly among the rest of the buildings in Midtown.
The Commodore has faced serious criticism from the Municipal Art Society of New York. Their Concerns are high; they worry that the tower’s immense proportions will pull away from the value of Grand Central Station, and from the Chrysler Building. The Commodore’s grand design and height will completely absorb the Chrysler, causing it to no longer be sufficiently appreciated as being a vital part of New York City’s history. As the Commodore’s foundation is planned to be larger than Grand Central Terminal, the city would effectively lose an architectural gem to a massive supertall, which will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere by roof height.
Even then, there is more worry surrounding Project Commodore.
The urban heat island effect occurs when there is a high density of tall buildings, people, and traffic. The density causes a lot of heat to linger in an area and the surrounding buildings prevent that heat from escaping. This creates a microclimate where temperatures can be up to five degrees Fahrenheit greater than the surrounding area.
Commonly found in Midtown, the Municipal Art Society worries that the Commodore will only worsen the heat island effect. As a result, they are pushing for developers of the Commodore to work with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate how to maximize thermal comfort for pedestrians, beyond minimum standards of sunlight and wind flow.
The Commodore’s massive size will forever change the way we see New York and its impact on the city will remain prominent.
Coming from San Francisco, California, Ms. Lily Boyd, a first year physics teacher at the Bronx High School of Science, shares similar experiences with change in her hometown.
“This [The Commodore] reminds me of what happened in San Francisco with the Transamerica Building and the Salesforce Tower that was similarly designed [to the Commodore]…but after a few years people kind of forgot. Now, the Salesforce Tower is just a kind of a taken-for-granted part of the skyline,” she said.
“People can accept change faster than they think…I think there is value in considering the design of the existing city when you make new buildings, but I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong to introduce new design,” and it’s true to a certain extent. People will move on with their lives eventually but that does not mean that people will not be significantly impacted by change.
The Empire Station Complex project has its controversy stemming from the risks that come with demolition around one of the busiest commuter stations in the country, such as noise and congestion, as well as what has to be done in order for the Empire Station to begin construction.
“It was outrageous to threaten eminent domain and demolition on six busy blocks of Midtown for a giant complex of mostly large commercial buildings that would dwarf Hudson Yards,” as noted by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a group dedicated to protecting historic and culturally significant sites around New York City. The Empire Station Complex would require the demolition of a 19th-century Roman Catholic church, St. John the Baptist Church, which was constructed in 1872. This is also a major point for the Landmarks Conservancy because of its historical value.
Furthermore, the State deemed the area around Penn Station as “blighted,” which in New York means that the area is facing economic stagnation and exhibits minimal benefits to street-life. The term is associated with lawlessness, abandoned buildings, and empty lots with overgrowth, which can hurt the image of local communities.
When the State deems an area to be blighted, the government has the ability to take property away from private holders and use the land for redevelopment. Such a method was used by Eric Adams to make way for the Moynihan Train Hall which now sits above Penn Station.
As written in page 31 of the draft scope of work of the Empire Station Complex, the project is so large that it will end up displacing local businesses. They will be hurt by unsustainable, rising rents as property values increase, and the same would be true for residents around the project site; rent will become unaffordable and more people will be displaced. The project is already expected to displace around 200 people.
Only four projects were named in this article, but there are many more revolutionary projects on the way that will affect New York City for better or worse including Tower Fifth with its sliding-roof design, rising 1,550 feet, and 350 Park Avenue, a new 1,350 foot office building that has received criticism over its usefulness in the era of remote jobs.
Then, there is Phase II of the Hudson Yards, which is still only proposed. Phase II will include a casino tower and two other supertall buildings with the highest Phase II supertall being 1,366 feet tall. This will make the tower bigger than the current tallest; 50 Hudson Yards.
While scrolling through Instagram reels, I saw a post stating, “As a born New Yorker, this city is done for,” posted by the page Newyorkers.
As new buildings spring up and old businesses get shut down, someone’s old hang-out spot gets built over, or redevelopment projects begin reshaping local communities, New York City as I knew it when I was born will never be the same. The city is always changing.
When I look up now to see the towers in Manhattan or any of the five boroughs, I recognize that there is a debate between protecting the city’s character and pushing it forward into the future. New York City quite literally symbolizes the problem of old versus new.
In the Bronx, cracking roads and unsafe intersections at the Grand Concourse have been fixed by the Grand Concourse Redevelopment Plan, which streamlined the flow of traffic, added better lighting and greenery, created bike lanes, and improved the walkability of the five-mile road.
In the Grand Concourse’s case, new is better; a broken-down road was fixed and improved the quality of life of the local neighborhood.
However in the case of the 19th-century Roman Catholic Church that will be demolished by the Empire Station Complex, the century’s old architecture of the building offers cultural value that cannot be replicated by modern supertall office buildings.
For the New York Landmarks Conservancy fighting for this church, old is better.
Wherever the future of New York City’s skyline may lie, remember to look up from now on and see the story of the greatest city in the world narrated through its towers.
Every new building in all five boroughs had to demolish something in order to stand proud. The construction of supertalls tell the story, or battle rather, between large developers and the local communities of New York.