In late May, the New York City Council unanimously voted in favor of a plan to upzone a five-block stretch of Vanderbilt Avenue next to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The widely expected move gives developer SL Green the green light to start work on its 1,501-foot-tall office tower known as One Vanderbilt.
SL Green was able to rally such strong support for its controversial Kohn Pedersen Fox–designed supertall by promising to give some things back to the city. Specifically, $220 million in upgrades for One Vanderbilt’s s iconic, Beaux-Arts neighbor—Grand Central Terminal.
As AN wrote in November, in an attempt to make commuting through Grand Central less hellish, SL Green pledged to build new subway entrances into the terminal, update existing mezzanines and corridors, and include a 4,000-square-foot waiting hall (complete with a living green wall) within One Vanderbilt. The developer will also create a block-long public plaza along Vanderbilt Avenue. All of these improvements must be completed before One Vanderbilt opens, which is slated to happen in 2021.
The city council’s stamp of approval also allows other supertall towers to rise on the five-block stretch of Vanderbilt Avenue.
