In addition to this (even though this lot was zoned under the Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning) many of the outer lots located on the outer region and even many in the center of the overall Midtown East rezoning area will never be supertalls simply because of the lot areas and the redevelopable FAR that they were alloted.
Thinking that every single new development in NYC (particularly those in Midtown) is going to be a supertall just because its NY makes no sense. Sure, air rights can always be purchased from landmark lots, but those air rights are not endless and they will expend at some point.
Office towers will always try to maximize large floor plates and sqft’age on any lot, the height will be a direct factor of the lot, 343 Madison’s lot is slightly over half the size of One Vanderbilt’s lot but they are both zoned the same, so it is just over half the height of One Vanderbilt.
Hotel/residential towers will always try to maximize views, meaning smaller floor plates to allow for better views per unit, also a direct factor of the height because this means a taller building, regardless of the lot size.