I knew you’d be excited Robert! 
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So Low is like the aftermath of an aviation disaster: in the aftermath, the only things left are a horrible trail of destruction and a black box.
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Demo Permits Filed For 10-14 And 20 West 57th Street In Midtown, Manhattan
Demolition permits have been filed for two buildings at 10-14 West 57th Street and 20 West 57th Street in Midtown, Manhattan. Located between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue, the sites are steps away from the 57th Street subway station, serviced by the F train. Anthony Calicchio of Solow Realty & Development Group is listed as the owner behind the applications. Solow Realty has been methodically purchasing parcels on West 57th Street, including 7, 10-14, 16, 20-22; all near their quintessential luxury residential property—9 West 57th Street.
At 10-14 West 57th Street, there is presently a 10-story commercial and office building built in 1916, yielding 81,174 square feet. 20 West 57th Street currently houses an 8-story office building built in 1928, with a gross 37,241 square feet of commercial space.
New construction permits for a 52-story mixed-use tower were filed in April of 2018 for 10-14 West 57th Street. The proposed 672-foot tall development will yield 392,555 square feet, with a mix of commercial and residential space. It is unclear what plans are held for 20 West 57th Street.
An estimated completion date has not been announced.
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NYY
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IThe term, “Billionnaire’s Row,” is not warranted. This Street looks pretty dilapidated and acceptable, at best. All of the empty lots with homeless sleeping outside the construction fences hardly screams luxury. This is no Michigan Avenue or Newbury Street.
The loss of these nice old buildings won’t help. 57th hardly needs another fat, black So Low box.
Anyone who confuses this with Belgrave Square or Wilton Crescent in London is delerious.
After the post-Amazon smackdown, our dirty city needs to copy what other cities, like Chicago, do better. 57th, like many streets, needs reduced lanes of traffic and wider, green sidewalks like Chicago has.
I see NY’s sad descent in its future. It’s not as special as its Marxist politicians seem to think it is.
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The vertical development of those valuable real estate sites are inevitable, and an intended, aspect of any metropolis. The being the case, those ‘historic’ buildings, had to be demolished as a natural consequence of this undeniable inevitability. However, how to we retain the irreplaceable beauty of that historic architecture.
Those buildings are ‘obsolete’ in the sense that the physical structure is old, deteriorated and well beyond what can be reasonably be restored: plumbing, electrical wiring, structural integrity, etc.
That being said, there seems to me a simple solution. The integration of that existing historic ‘architectural design’ into the construction of a new high rise building directly above this beautiful historic building.
The original ‘structurally/mechanically obsolete’ building can be torn down: and then an EXACT replica built in its place: the new high rise tower to be built above this new historic replica. Metropolitan real estate development can be done; without stripping away the irreplaceable historic Architectural beauty of the street front. The so called billionaire row on 57th street is going to get very bland/box/boring looking if something is not done soon. This approach I have here suggested is ‘possible’ - but just not done.
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I wholeheartedly agree, Robert. NYC can never be truly beautiful so long as its infrastructure and layout remain poor. It frustrates me to no end that the city doesn’t value aesthetics and basic functionality like other cities.
Your idea to reduce traffic lanes for wider sidewalks with landscaping is brilliant and would immediately improve the city immeasurably. Adding real dedicated bike lanes in many places would also be an improvement, as NYC has an appalling number of bike accidents per year. There is no need for a borough like Manhattan to cater to car traffic.
What really irritates me is the lack of motivation to fix the trash situation, the streets, and the construction shed menace. I’ve never seen a city so indifferent to these things. Yes, road reconstruction would be expensive and time consuming, but it would save millions in the future for all parties involved, and would lead to better streets. Recessing trash bins in the sidewalk or finding alternative ways to store trash like other cities have done should be paramount, instead of dumping it on the street like some developing city. And good god, the construction sheds … 
How it can it be “The Greatest City in the World” when these issues are never addressed?
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Its why the ego needs to be checked every once in a while. I personally see such confidence as troubling if it be a city or even a county. For example, when folks say or really, the politicians, that “we are the greatest country in the world”… that brings a state of false confidence, and one void of self-reflection.
A wise person would look at the optics from all angles, and make an assessment on where we have strong points, but also weak points.
From a PR standpoint, it sounds great, and what I’m leading to is that if one lives in a bubble of thinking they are great, and does minimal effort to fix the issues or to even look at some arising problems, it leads to problems. Kinda why honesty, and self-reflection are key.
If a city or even a country is unwilling to be self-critical of itself, it will never truly be great. Other countries or cities for that matter should be used as case studies. Take the positives of one area, and incorporate those lessons into “X” area or “Y” policy.
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Will the building on the left of the screen be torn down? If so it’s even more heartbreaking than I thought.
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Yes. Metropolitan and Monaco are being razed by So Low.
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Very well said Chris.
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We need to start hosting funerals for buildings
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So Low!
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Taliban! SoLow.
This really needs to be a supertall. Solow, give us a landmark here.
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Solow, aged 90, is not known for being a gambler. He’s no Macklowe. He’s overly cautious and pragmatic and I’m not a fan of what he has built (9 West 57th is the most notable). If he were more dynamic that gigantic hole in the ground South of the UN would’ve been developed into something great by now.
I’m betting this isn’t the final design. Make zero sense to build a middling box when Billionaires Row is all about soaring supertalls.
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