Two of Manhattan’s highest profile LEED projects took blows on the chin last week. After announcing in July that it would likely reduce the tower’s size by nearly a third, Vornado’s plans for Harlem’s first office tower in thirty years appear to be on the ropes. Despite generous tax incentives from both the city and state, Vornado has had difficulty obtaining financing for the Swanke Hayden Connell-designed Harlem Tower. Instead, the developer recently sought an additional $15 per square foot from planned anchor tenant MLB Network and, alternatively, also proposed building a five-story building exclusively for the network. The Times reports that both strokes “infuriated” MLB executives, who “wanted to be in a marquee tower on 125th Street.” Meanwhile, downtown, 2008 Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel’s LEED-hopeful 100 Eleventh Avenue is currently $50 million over budget and close to a year behind schedule.
August 25th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "Swanke Hayden Connell"
Credit Markets, Lack of Tenants May Trim Vornado’s LEED Silver Harlem Tower
Just before Bon Jovi opened up Saturday night’s All-Star Concert in Central Park, a Major League Baseball rep encouraged the crowd to “tune in” to the new MLB Network once it launches in 2009. Late last week, though, a report surfaced that Vornado, which will develop the $435 million, 21-story Swanke Hayden Connell-designed LEED Silver Harlem Tower at the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue that’s meant to house the new network, is planning on cutting the building’s size by close to a third due to its inability to secure financing for the project. Vornado has also had difficulty securing any tenants in addition to MLB; the developer had been negotiating with Midtown-based Inner City Broadcasting, the country’s second-largest radio company that targets African-American listeners, but has yet to officially secure a lease with the broadcaster, while a rumored retail lease with Macy’s never materialized either.
July 14th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 2 comments | Continued
Vornado Hopes to Swing for Groundbreaking at Harlem Tower with Major League Baseball
Over the summer, we wrote about the Swanke Hayden Connell-designed Harlem Tower, developed by Vornado, which will seek a LEED Silver rating. The project will be Harlem’s first new commercial office building since 1973 and stand at the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue, adjacent to a number of subway lines and the Metro North commuter rail station. A couple of weeks ago, in an effort to push the project forward, Vornado agreed with Major League Baseball’s new cable television network on a lease that will take up approximately one fifth of the 600,000-square-foot, 21-story tower, including the second and third floors which would serve as network studio space, and the top two floors for executive offices. The deal is still being finalized, and Vornado hopes to break ground sometime this spring now that it has secured an anchor tenant.
February 13th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Monday LEEDoff: Harlem Tower Seeks Silver at 125th and Park
Harlem’s first new office tower since 1973 is about to rise from the site of a former parking lot on the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue. Designed by Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, the twenty-one story, 600,000 square foot Harlem Tower will seek a LEED Silver rating and is developer Vornado’s first project in [...]
July 16th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued