One Vanderbilt is a skyscraper under construction in New York City on the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Proposed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and developer SL Green Realty as part of a planned Midtown East rezoning, the tower will stand next to Grand Central Terminal (GCT). Designed by leveraging the expertise of one of the largest architecture and design firms KPF, the plan for One Vanderbilt is breathtakingly beautiful, sleek and modern. The project is a public partnership that entails renovating GCT to finally expose it to sunlight. The building is planned to be LEED certified, with column-free floor plates, floor-to-ceiling windows, unmatched ceiling heights, 360 degree views and best-in-class building systems.
One Vanderbilt will set standards for Class A office spaces in New York City for several reasons. It holds an iconic status for its location, i.e. right next to GCT and planned to be 1,401 feet tall (which would make it the second tallest building in NYC), it will grab eyeballs from the industry and passersby. The project is being undertaken by SL Green, the largest commercial landlord in NYC. They had initially assembled the site via purchases of buildings over the course of ten years, including one for $77 million in 2011.
SL Green is expected to spend $220 million to renovate GCT as a part of the project, and has received exceptional praise and support from government authorities for the commitment. The investment will also include the largest private investment in NYC’s subway system, including providing a 14,000 sq. ft. pedestrian only plaza, one additional train per hour and accommodation for 1,100 more passengers in each direction. The building will also include a ‘world class dining area’ spread over 30,000 sq. ft. SL Green has already secured a construction loan of $1.5 billion on the project, led by Wells Fargo and a consortium of several top banks at 3.5% plus Libor floating interest rate with an option to decrease the spread based on certain investments.
The construction for the tower will be undertaken by Tishman Speyer and the construction cost for the tower is expected to be around $3 billion. Tishman is on track to commence vertical construction of One Vanderbilt in the second quarter of 2017. What will become an instant icon of Midtown East is scheduled to open its doors in 2020. One of the leases on the building has already been made public, in which TD Bank will come in as an anchor tenant, with a 20-year lease for 200,000 sq. ft. of rental space and retail on the ground floor.
SL Green currently has 119 buildings in Manhattan, accounting for 44.7 million sq. ft. and an additional interest in 31 building in the suburbs totaling 4.9 million sq. ft.
