1,400-Foot Tower Planned For 401 Seventh Avenue

On the site of the Hotel Pennsylvania, at 401 Seventh Avenue, a massive 1,400-foot skyscraper called “Penn15” will soon occupy the small morsel of empty sky sandwiched between the Empire State Building and Hudson Yards.

Vornado Realty Trust has big plans to construct one of the largest office buildings in New York City, a massive 2.8-million-square-foot tower designed by Rafael Vinoly, rising more than 1,400-feet into the Midtown sky.

Contrary to recent reports, Facebook has no plans to occupy the new tower. 

The Internet giant has already committed to One Madison Avenue in Gramarcy Patrk, which ElectricWeb will spotlight in our next issue. 
  

Regardless, the new building design will be built around open floor plans and numerous outdoor spaces designed to lure technology tenants.

Variable stacked floor plates would be interspersed and cantilevered atop one another, with each of the tower’s five components totaling 560,000 square feet apiece.

Its design has been described by some commentators as a Jenga block tower, only made out of glass and green space instead of wood blocks.

The design of the base of the tower would be particularly elegant, featuring a terraced garden atop the first floor, and a soaring glass atrium in the middle of the structure. 

The new skyscraper will be both taller and bulkier than the Empire State Building, just a few blocks to the east.

While Penn15’s rooftop would stand 1,400 feet above street level, its interior will only include 48 usable floors, with 43 of those dedicated to office space. 

The bottom of the tower would span three floors, including the lobby, ground floor retail stores, conference space, a restaurant, and two theaters, one of which will accommodate up to 700 people.

The developer has long considered plans to renovate the 1919-vintage hotel with a major hotel company, convert it into a huge convention center and entertainment venue or demolish and replace it.

The famed Hotel Pennsylvania, at 15 Penn Plaza, and its 1,000 rooms has fallen victim to increasingly lurid headlines following its renovation. 

A baby’s death there earlier this year was ruled a homicide, there have been multiple suicides and accidental deaths at the property in recent  years, and Internet reviews are overwhelmingly terrible with many guests believing the hotel to be haunted.