Approved: 425 Park Avenue
BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON MARCH 4TH 2014 AT 10:00 AM
425 Park Avenue – existing building
All permits for construction at 425 Park Avenue have been approved, and work may begin shortly; the existing building is being partially demolished to make way for 42 stories of offices, designed by Norman Foster. The developer is L&L Holding Company.
The entirety of the redevelopment will encompass approximately 513,000 square feet, and the height to the highest occupied floor will be 905 feet. That figure may not include the ‘fins’ atop Foster’s vision, given that Department of Buildings measurements do not include architectural flourishes; if 425 Park Avenue doesn’t break the 1,000-foot mark, it will certainly come close.
425 Park Avenue — image from Foster
While the future of the Midtown East re-zoning has been temporarily derailed, the cloud of disconcertion should be temporary, as De Blasio has promised to continue the push that failed under the Bloomberg administration. 425 Park Avenue is not dependent on the re-zoning, as it will simply be a re-configuration of the existing square footage into Class A space.
Indeed, moving forward ahead of the general re-zoning will give L&L an edge over other developers, as 425 Park Avenue will rise several years prior to competing projects.
The lower quarter of the existing 425 Park Avenue must be preserved, so demolition may be more difficult than usual, but L&L’s project is expected to be completed in 2017.
