^well me too, but i guess we just have to deal with it being 2006.

^ i dk, it might have been tan before.

 

yeow -- here's a new map of architectural firms/starchitects

with projects popping up along the highline:

 

 

 

link:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/04/24/high_lines_starchitected_hell.php

Great pictures, mrnyc.  I'm impressed with the design.  I usually feel like starchitects tend to recycle the same idea over and over again, particularly Frank Gehry.  Foster's design looks both classic and innovative.

Agreed.  Foster, imo, is probably the best of the starchitects.  From the British Museum to the  New German Parliament, they are all much better pieces of work than what Gehry has ever done.  But what do I know, I'm not an architect. 

 

In the perfect world, I would have Foster design the new Brent Spence Bridge in Cincy.  His Millau Bridge in France is awesome.

Yes the bridge is quite impressive!

 

That's quite pretty, but the site clearly has something to do with it.  Any examples of good modern & urban bridge design?

^all i got is my own pics of the new calatrava footbridge bridge in buenos aires:

 

 

 

 

 

its so mod looking, walking up to it you'd never guess there was a cool wood deck

 

 

Definitely cool.  Thanks.  I like the PDA in the last picture.  You don't see that happening on the Purple People Bridge.

i finally got around to visiting the frit this afternoon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well earned

 

 

hold on to your hats.....

 

but first some background info:

 

What is Forest City Ratner?

Forest City Ratner is a subsidiary of Cleveland based Forest City Enterprises, the largest publicly traded real estate development corporation in the United States. Bruce Ratner is the CEO and President of Forest City Ratner (FCR). FCR's headquarters are in the Metrotech office complex in Downtown Brooklyn. FCR is best known in Brooklyn for constructing Metrotech, the Atlantic Center Mall, and the Atlantic Terminal Mall.

 

What is Bruce Ratner's “Atlantic Yards” Proposal?

16 Skyscrapers and an Arena that will cost taxpayers nearly $2 billion, according to independent analysis. While the arena is most of what you hear about the project, it is a very small part of this plan. 90% of the scheme is skyscrapers which would rise up to 53 stories high, taller than the iconic Williamsburg Savings Bank, and cast shadows as far as DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene.

 

This project would fill seven large blocks, from Flatbush to Vanderbilt Avenues, and from Atlantic Avenue to Dean Street. That’s almost 1.5 times the size of the entire World Trade Center site.

 

3-5 additional skyscrapers are also proposed by the developer on Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush, on the current sites of the Atlantic Center Mall, PC Richards, and Modells.

 

some more quick grounding, this mega-development is on the edge of downtown brooklyn

 

one more background leadup pic -- this is the only previous rendering we had

 

 

link -- there is more here:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/05/11/ratnerville_update_frank_gehrys_latest_revealed.php#more

 

 

They sure do think in large-scale terms in NYC.  That is a ridiculously huge project...its like the Banks x3!  I have no idea what to even think about the architecture of the bldgs yet...still in shock. :-o

i still dk what to think of this mega-project, still in shock i guess.

 

here's another view:

 

 

(yipes - i'm getting seasick looking at it !!!!)   :-o

 

yeah, seeing this makes we wanna puke too.  :-D

^i know, and for more reasons than just it's looks, right? ugh.

 

come on already fcr, can't we get even a small piece of this kind of development back home in downtown cleveland??? sheesh. get in the game back home willyas !?!!

it's nice to know that this can all happen with the opposition of thousands of residents whose lives will be affected for decades to come.  I used to live on the corner of Dekalb & So. Oxford, which is about 4 large blocks from here, so to think of the shadows reaching that far is pretty mind-boggling.  I can't help but wonder how the public would be responding if Ratner hadn't already built two shitty structures at the same intersection in recent history...maybe they'd believe that he was capable of doing work that wasn't half-assed and contextually out of place.  Not that he cares what they think!

there is a 4.5 min video interview w/ gehry re this project on the nytimes website:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/

looka what gehry is doing to/in brighton, england:

 

 

From the blog Veritas et Venustas comes the amusing comparison of Atlantic Yards starchitect Frank Gehry’s words about Brooklyn and Brighton, England.

 

Gehry said of Brooklyn and his Miss Brooklyn tower: "We're trying to understand what is Brooklyn, what is the body language of Brooklyn, and trying to emulate it without copying it. Copying it would trivialize it."

 

And of his seaside project in Brighton? "One thing that impresses me is the Victorian character of the town," he says. "I've got this picture of the maidens in their floating dresses in Brighton on the wall of my office. It's a kind of inspiration and the towers now do look as if they relate to that."

 

 

link:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/05/18/a_bride_for_brooklyn_and_a_maiden_for_brighton.php

 

 

ps --- not gehry, but here's some brighton marina development. looks a lot like what people are planning for the cleveland the port authority property:

 

this is downtown near city hall and behind pace university. the lot is cleared. i have heard about it, but no news in quite awhile. oh, its a ratner property folks. today the first (now old) renderings for the tower were leaked.

 

given the brooklyn atlantic yards/brighton, england renderings, you will certainly see it as familiar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

BREAKING CURBED EXCLUSIVE: Gehry/Ratner Renderings!

 

Tuesday, May 23, 2006, by Lockhart

 

BREAKING!!! MUST CREDIT CURBED DOT COM!!! But seriously, stop everything in your life and check it: above, the first publicly seen rendering of the Frank Gehry-designed tower, backed by Bruce Ratner, that's slated for 200 Beekman Street in downtown Manhattan, discussed here this morning. Below, how the tower would fit into the existing downtown skyline. Just—holy f$&k. There it is.

 

Curbed tipsters are very, very good to us. But we're not sure a tipster has ever been as good to us as this. Still, it must be noted that these renderings are from Fall 2004 and could well have almost certainly have evolved since then.

 

Reader Comments (5 extant)

 

1.

I don't want to be critical, but this is probably the most hideous structure I've ever seen. Did the architect forgot to put on his glasses or something?

 

By Leo at May 23, 2006 03:51 PM2.

you're f$&ked

 

see you in court

 

By bruce r at May 23, 2006 03:51 PM3.

i was working on this project through early 2005 when a major client pulled out. this is an old rendering (sadly they refused to release any other renderings after this one). i concur with the leaker about forest city - they are 100% pricks. it was entertaining to watch them try to do cost analysis on this and realize that 75 stories of frank gehry is NOT CHEAP, even compared to the atlantic yards mess. they really want the project to be realized and will probably (continue to) rape and pillage to get it done ...

 

By mortonstreeter at May 23, 2006 03:52 PM4.

So it's a little wavy. Big deal. It looks like Extell's Orion on 42nd but with a "wave." Is this what Gehry has become?

 

By KB at May 23, 2006 04:04 PM5.

I actually like the design.

 

Although if i was hungover I might vomit on myself using that as a landmark to get home.

 

 

By hungover at May 23, 2006 04:05 PM

 

link:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/05/23/breaking_curbed_exclusive_gehryratner_renderings.php#more

 

 

 

 

This is quite a hideous structure....Gehry manages to dissapoint me with nearly everyone of his projects :|

Well, we have a new tower for me to hate now. This tower is terrible. It does not fit into the context of New York City, and I don't like it among other things. Just like the Louisville tower, this tower will take time to grow on me. Maybe the exterior will look better once built.

Yup, that thing is hideous.

brooklyn is the new jersey city? look at these non-ratner atlantic yards buildings going up right in downtown brooklyn on flatbush. would you like something like this first one in one of ohio's three c's? thumbs up or down? i say up.

 

 

 

 

Alien Spawn of Flatiron Building to Rise on Flatbush Ave

 

Friday, August 18, 2006, by Robert

 

-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This week's Brooklyn Papers hits us up with the rendering to the right of the new 22-story luxury condo tower that is soon to rise on a triangular lot on Flatbush Avenue between Tillary and Duffield Streets that will be one of the first sights greeting arrivals to the Brooklyn mainland after the Manhattan Bridge. (Not counting the J Condo in Dumbo.) The paper's appraisal: "It looks like the lovechild of the Flatiron Building and a spaceship." The architect, Ismael Leyva, who is part of the design team for the stalled again Moynihan Station, says he was inspired by the Flatiron Building and by wanting to bring Manhattan flavor to Brooklyn. (The Flatbush Alien Flatiron is not to be confused with the Fort Greene Flatiron.) The architect has also designed two luxe highrises of 35 and 40 stories on Gold Street and several others along Flatbush Avenue between the Manhattan Bridge and Dekalb Avenue. Eight highrises are under development around Flatbush Avenue, so far. We're unclear how many of the parcels are triangular and will spawn more Brooklyn Flatirons.

 

Reader Comments (15 extant)

 

It's ugly. It looks like Miami, not Manhattan.

By [email protected] at August 18, 2006 2:07 PM2.

 

Ouch... the jetsons have landed.

By Anonymous at August 18, 2006 2:07 PM3.

 

Not cool, Ismael, not cool! I know you hate brooklyn, but this is just plain malicious.

By Anonymous at August 18, 2006 2:42 PM4.

 

looks like a really really cheap richard rogers building

By Anonymous at August 18, 2006 2:57 PM5.

 

That's really neat. Love it.

By Bing at August 18, 2006 3:49 PM6.

 

that's not the best photo. you can get a better one here:

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5840&page=12

 

the balconies look like they're all glass...really cool.

By Anonymous at August 18, 2006 3:54 PM7.

 

Wow, man I guess I can start making my renderings A LOT uglier. Yikes.

By Will at August 18, 2006 4:10 PM8.

 

brooklyn is the new las vegas.

By killa mike at August 18, 2006 4:45 PM9.

 

Brooklyn could use some Miami-nization.

Isn't that where most New Yorkers are going to anyway?

By Brooklyn at August 18, 2006 4:54 PM10.

 

Wow cool I love it! Brooklyn needs more glassy stuff like this... Not some brick-piece-of-sh*t.

By George at August 18, 2006 4:55 PM11.

 

the photo that #6 links to is even uglier.

nyc gets ulgier by the day.

*sigh*

By holy crap at August 18, 2006 4:59 PM12.

 

you know what's awesome about this building?

 

that it's just ONE building.

 

it's one building by one architect for one developer. and when another building by another architect is built next to it -- blam! -- you start to get an interesting streetscape and diversity. and the people who didn't like the first building may like the second. and problems that are encountered after the first building can be addressed by the second building.

 

it's not like, oh, say... 16 skyscrapers designed by one guy being dropped in one fell swoop on top of an entire neighborhood.

By chuck at August 18, 2006 5:09 PM13.

 

Excellent point chuck -- it's why I'm OK with most of the other stuff we see planned for the area -- I'm especially looking forward to the Richard Meier building on GAP -- I don't really like any of the others (and this one is not too nice at all), but at least they're individual structures, not the densest single development ever built in the country!

By babs at August 18, 2006 5:34 PM14.

 

chuck, that is the stupidest thing i've heard all week. line up a bunch of shit and you still have a bunch of shit.

 

have a sweet weekend.

By holy crap at August 18, 2006 5:41 PM15.

 

This new tower is awesome! I can't believe this is getting built in Brooklyn. Maybe in Manhattan. Keep it up new modern architiects!

By Anonymous at August 18, 2006 5:48 PM

 

link:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/08/18/alien_spawn_of_flatiron_building_to_rise_on_flatbush_ave.php

 

 

 

By PATRICK GALLAHUE

July 24, 2006

 

Just call them the "Lords of Flatbush."

 

Developers are lining up to build Downtown Brooklyn's storied main drag into a billion-dollar thoroughfare.

 

At least eight new construction projects are in the pipeline for a now-gritty three-block stretch of Flatbush Avenue between Tillary and Willoughby streets, just blocks from Bruce Ratner's $4.2 billion planned complex of residential and commercial towers around the new Nets basketball arena.

 

"It'll be a completely new vista of Brooklyn when you come off the [Manhattan] Bridge," said Michael Burke, of the Downtown Brooklyn Council.

 

Among the projects being planned is a 60-story, multimillion-dollar hotel, office and condominium tower over a city-owned parking garage at Albee Square West, to be built by Thor Equities.

 

Down the block, on Myrtle Avenue, a $450 million pair of buildings - comprising a million square feet of space - are planned, according to John Catsimatidis, who will develop the projects.

 

"It's five minutes away from Wall Street and it's one-third the price of Manhattan. Why not?" said Catsimatidis, the Gristedes supermarket magnate. Catsimatidis said his tentative plans are to build just shy of the 400-foot building-height limits, with retail on the first and second floors.

 

Just across the street, BFC Development is hoping to break ground later this year on a roughly $200 million, 40-story residential and retail tower, by the architectural firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill, which designed the Freedom Tower.

 

"It's going to be in the area of a billion dollars between all [these] projects," said Ron Hershco, who broke ground on his own luxury 35- and 40-story buildings on Gold Street.

 

link:

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5840&page=12

 

those want even fit in with the surround area. 

 

they look very south florida cheezie.  thank God I dont live in downtown brooklyn anymore I wouldn't want to look at that crap.

 

i can remember when ft.greene/clinton hills, carroll gardens, lower park slope, prospect hts., & boreum hill were dirt cheap.  Now some of these areas are just as expensive or more expensive than Manhattan.

^ don't forget williamsburg w/ some new stuff at $1000/sqft  in that rant! :laugh:

 

i still have a napkin from 1996 w/ a list of apts in my wvillage/chelsea/mtpking nabe we visited that were all $100k. ugh.

well i could see those fitting-in in that standing out like a sore thumb way in downtown cleveland, if that makes sense... but those things look like they overwhelm the neighborhood...

Personally, I wouldn't complain about the architecture of any new skyscrapers built in C-bus.  I'm not a big fan of the glass version of the flatiron, but the corner units with balconies would offer some pretty cool views with all of the glass.

I like both of 'em.

 

 

 

Im not a fan of the glass flatiron. I think its the balcony thing or the rendering thats making me not like it. The other one looks like an office building,  more than a condo, not my type of thing but I dont hate it.

heres another update. its almost done. i forgot i took these, they are from the last days of august:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

an update (cover your eyes grasscat  :wink: ). well its well underway. all these historic old dockside buildings in the pic have been torn down to make way for the "urban" ikea. what a crazy shame. there is a lot of stink about it too on the link below:

 

 

Bye Bye Red Hook Graving Dock: Ikea Starts Big Fill

 

Friday, September 15, 2006, by Robert

 

-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

[Photo courtesy of John Bartelstone]

 

Looks like it could be time to kiss the Graving Dock on the Todd Shipyard property Ikea site in Red Hook good bye. Red Hook blogger B61 Productions says he got a tip the big box Swedish retailer has started filling in it in. If you've been following the big demolition job, you might remember that some nabe advocates have been lobbying to save it. B61 says:

 

Despite pleas from a group collectively known as the "Save the Graving Dock Committee," IKEA has remained steadfast in their intent to pave over the maritime structure...As one of the New York Preservation Society's "Seven to Save," the dock garnered interest from preservationists and local maritime advocates before and after the City Council approved the project.

To recap and update: all the buildings on the huge 22-acre site are now rubble. The Graving Dock will come back in the next life as a parking lot.

· Graving dock filled? [b61 Productions]

· Before Ikea, Bricks and Rubble [Curbed]

· Ikea's Demolition Derby [Curbed]

 

link w/ commentary:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/09/15/bye_bye_red_hook_graving_dock_ikea_starts_big_fill.php

 

ratners atlantic yards was given final approval today. video on the ny1 link and lots of commentary on the blog link below:

 

 

 

for more views --- a mega-rendering pic link here:

http://www.amny.com/sports/am-atlanticyards-pg,0,6487135.photogallery?index=11

 

Dec 21, 2006     

 

Top Stories 

 

PACB Gives Atlantic Yards Green Light

 

December 20, 2006

 

After hours of delays, the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project was finally given the go-ahead by a key state board Wednesday.

 

video here:

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=65262

 

the bloggy dish here:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/12/20/breaking_atlantic_yards_project_approved_really.php

 

 

Damn...why don't they just build DT Dayton..just on a whim in Brooklyn.  I envy the shear size of projects in NYC!!

Damn...why don't they just build DT Dayton..just on a whim in Brooklyn.  I envy the shear size of projects in NYC!!

 

You realize the entire office space lost in the World Trade Center's demise (9/11) was the equivalent of Downtown Cincinnati, right?

I hate frank gehry.  I enjoy the simpson's episode where he is mocked, yet I am unhappy he has enough notoriety to be the focus of a simpson's episode.  It is quite the dilemma.

Judging from the renderings the developers could have just hired an entry level planner that sucks at Sketchup

You realize the entire office space lost in the World Trade Center's demise (9/11) was the equivalent of Downtown Cincinnati, right?

 

No, but it doesn't surprise me...NYC is trully special!

mrnyc is a lucky bastard for being able to live there! I hope to end up living there when all is said and done.

"I hate frank gehry.  I enjoy the simpson's episode where he is mocked, yet I am unhappy he has enough notoriety to be the focus of a simpson's episode.  It is quite the dilemma."

 

He does make quite lovely jewelry for Tiffany & Co.

I like Gehry and I do like the Peter B Lewis building. Sure it could have been better, but its exterior is interesting and the interior is so cool.

 

However, I've had enough of his signature style. We have enough of the curvy metallic Gehry buildings on this planet

^I'm with you Wim on the PBL building, but I'm actually a little excited to see what a whole Gehry 'hood is going to look like.  Not excited to see what this does to Brooklyn traffic, however.  NYC Traffic and its side effects are already major bummers.

I remember being in this part of Brooklyn, and recalling that the immediate surrounding buildings weren't all that tall.  I'm concerned about the scale of this.  I kind of expected this from Gehry.  Although, the buildings on the edges look they were bought form Gehry at discount. 

 

Not really a big fan of this project.

When I lived in Brooklyn, I live close to the neighborhood, and the "brownstone" neighborhoods will suffer from this massive neighborhood.  I wonder how they are going to intergrate this.

 

Most of the people I know in this area, have not embracced this project.  I can remember when pathmark was built and the south oxford tennis club was still standing.

 

I almost bought a brownstone on St. Felix, but the subway (d train) had problems during reconstruction/renovation and part of the street caved in, so I was like no thanks.  Had I bought there, I would have thought of pathmark as a convienience, now with atlantic center there and the thousands of extra people in the area, its become WAY to congested.  This project will dwarf the surrounding neighborhoods and block out any light.

 

This is going to be a mess! 

geez not even approved yet (haha) and they got arena naming rights sewn up:

 

 

Destroyer Gets a Name

 

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, by Joey

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

As if New York City needs another bank, the Post reports in an EXCLUSIVE that British financial mega-institution Barclays has signed on the dotted line to buy the naming rights to the Nets' arena in Brooklyn (what, you thought it was going to be called the Gehry Dome?). The deal, which should be officially announced today, will be the richest ever for an arena's naming rights, so get used to saying Barclays Center for 20 years or so. By the by, we think it's a safe bet that we know which bank Daniel Goldstein won't be opening a checking account at. The Post also reports that the Atlantic Yards groundbreaking could happen "as early as in a few weeks," you know, if it's actually allowed to get built.

· Net$ Name Game [NYPost]

· Atlantic Yards React-o-Matic [Curbed]

 

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/01/17/destroyer_gets_a_name.php

 

 

the arena naming rights deed is done and the ratners get hella richer  :whip:

 

 

January 19, 2007

Big Buts For Brooklyn-Bound Barclays

 

Yesterday, officials welcomed Barclays as the winner in the $400 million naming rights derby for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. The NY Times reports that the Nets looked at various entities to pitch the idea of becoming lucky one to pay lots of money to have its name on the Frank Gehry-designed arena and decided Barclays Bank "needed a game changer, that they don’t have as big a presence or brand recognition here as in the U.K." As they say, a sucker is born every minute!

 

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2007/01/19/big_buts_for_br.php#comments

 

***and check it out -- the barclay's center cheesy website is already up:

http://www.barclayscenter.com/

 

 

 

 

i thought this was potentially interesting. it caught my eye because its on my street, but also because even tho it will just be a blocky tower by day by night it could really look transparent and cool if they pull it off. its no great shakes, but wouldnt something like this say along the csu campus brighten up euclid at night?:

 

 

Rumblings Bonus: New School Redux

 

Friday, February 9, 2007, by Lockhart

 

 

Because everyone enjoyed yesterday's Rumblings report of a new New School Tower planned for the corner of 14th and Fifth Avenue, we thought we'd do it again today. A tipster passes along the entire SOM design proposal for the project, dated January 26, 2007. Above, a view of the tower at night. After the jump, some plans that might allow the eagle-eyed amongst us to figure out how the hell the differently colored passages align with the building's interior uses. (And, for the truly obsessed, a commenter points us in the direction of the New School's Master Plan from a few years back, which discusses this site and makes great Friday afternoon reading.)

· Rumblings and Bumblings Responses: NEW School [Curbed]

· Campus Master Plan 2004-2005 [NewSchool.edu, PDF]

 

 

 

Reader Comments (5 extant)

 

 

1.

Not bad. It reminds me a little of Zaha Hadid's Rosenthal Center in Cincy, who I normally do not like.

 

By Theblindelephant at February 9, 2007 2:08 PM2.

So at night time the whole sky turns red aswell. That is very cool. I like it.

 

By Anonymous at February 9, 2007 2:18 PM3.

Where's the nicotine patch student lounge?

 

By TK at February 9, 2007 2:28 PM4.

i say- cheap derivative of a Koolhaas design for the Paris Library competition several years ago. look it up in SMLXL you'll see what i mean. for their sake, i wish they could pull this one off at a higher level than what is shown now. It would be really nice in that location and give the new school a real presence instead of the crap building there now.

 

By justin at February 9, 2007 2:47 PM5.

while the rendering looks lovely, it will probably look like a glass walled cube in person.

 

By J$ at February 9, 2007 3:03 PM

 

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/02/09/rumblings_bonus_new_school_redux.php#more

 

 

 

 

ehhh...not a big fan.

^ i know, nobody likes som. also, its just a box.

 

but i do like cleverly brightened up intersections at night. we'll see.

 

in hells kitchen, nyc -- wow, 25' and a 16' fronts? thats crazy. this proves they can squeeze a new condo tower into any space if they want too  :-o:

 

 

 

Ismael Leyva Towers Over Hell's Kitchen at 785 Eighth

 

Thursday, February 15, 2007, by ROK88

 

-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

The latest rendering from the Ismael Leyva Architects P.C. website shows a glass-clad residential condo tower rising very tall over the southwest corner of Eighth Avenue and West 48th Street. How tall? This tall: 556 feet! Just recently a big crane arrived at the site. The Leyva gang must have done some clever calculating to get this sliver of a tower onto one of the oddest shaped lots we've come across. Is it an octagon? A complex-polygon? Perhaps a mathematician in the crowd can figure it out.

 

[Zoning Map from the Department of City Planning showing the site]

 

The 785 Eighth Avenue lot has a mere 25' frontage on Eighth Avenue; on West 48th the frontage measures a measly 16'8". So, how does a developer squeeze a big tower like this into such a small site? First, buy some air rights from the lot next door. Next, toss in the recently-enacted Theatre Sub-District zoning regs. Then dig a deep foundation and put up a crane. Voila! 42 stories. 120 Units.

 

As can be seen on the Zoning Map above (and from info at the NYC Department of Buildings) the plot for this tower is sort of "T" shaped. Word is that there will be a private garden tucked away at the left in the southwest corner. The rendering shows what appears to be a cantilevered bump-out on the south facade. The east facade facing Eighth Avenue shows a series of balconies rising almost the full height of the tower. But the north facade remains a mystery. One thing is for sure: The crane on this site will be growing by the week We'll keep readers posted as construction moves forward. Tip: With the way that crane is hanging out over the street, pedestrians in this vicinity might be wise to keep a hard hat handy.

 

 

 

Reader Comments (1 extant)

 

 

1.

Kinda neat. I bet the upper floors will sway in the breeze.

 

By Larry at February 15, 2007 2:28 PM

 

link:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/02/15/ismael_leyva_towers_over_hells_kitchen_at_785_eighth.php#more

 

ps -- i just noticed this razor thin tower is going up next to the pub i took a pic of in my recent manhattan holiday photo thread, you can see the empty lot on the righthand side:

 

Sounds like the King West Tower in Toronto.

it does, i saw on emporis that that one is a little taller, 578ft. also, it's connected to a historic bank building at its base, this one is stand alone and keeps the odd narrowness all the way down. amazing what they can squeeze into a small lot like that.