Six years after a drive-through–equipped McDonald’s (a very rare bird in Manhattan) was torn down at the corner of 10th Avenue and 34th Street, its replacement is complete: a luxurious, Foster + Partners–designed glass office tower towering- qualifying height squeaks in just past the 1,000-foot mark. With its eye-catching, large-scale lobby art courtesy of Frank Stella and eyebrow-raising luxury amenities like a private porte-cochère, the 3 million-square-foot 50 Hudson Yards is the largest commercial office building completed in rail yard-topping Manhattan megadevelopment. Spanning an entire city block, the 58-story tower also ranks as the fourth largest office tower in New York City by leasable square feet.
While there are many parts of Hudson Yards, the new office tower, which broke ground in 2018 and was completed on schedule, is one of two major structures realized in the first phase of development. no to be built on a platform raised above the West Side Yard. Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and nearby 55 Hudson Yards by Roche-Dinkeloo, another sleek office tower completed in 2019, are the others. The two buildings straddle Hudson Park and Boulevard at the northern end of the nascent neighborhood on Midtown’s west end.
Due to its status as a Mega Office Building, 50 Hudson Yards is touted by major developers Associated Companies and Oxford Properties (as with 55 Hudson Yards, Mitsui Fudosan is a majority stakeholder) as a “symbol of revitalization of the city office” that opens “Boosting the return to work.” Eighty-four percent leased upon initial opening, major tenants slated to move into 50 Hudson Yards in the coming weeks and months include anchor tenant BlackRock along with Facebook parent company Meta, Vista Equity Partners, Truist Financial, ServiceNow, Passkey and XTX Markets. On the retail/restaurant front, longtime Lower East Side Jewish appetizing staple Russ & Daughters is set to bring bagels, bialys and babkas to a new 4,500-square-foot Hudson Yards outpost opening in spring 2023. additional dining destinations at 50 Hudson Yards will be announced in the coming months.
“Fifty Hudson Yards’ growing tenant base of industry leaders reinforces that the office is back and better than ever,” Related CEO Jeff T. Blau said in a press release.
“The opening of Fifty Hudson Yards marks another major milestone in New York City’s continued economic recovery,” added New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was on hand last week to celebrate the building’s formal opening. “With some of the world’s largest investors leasing space in this building, these business leaders are sending a clear message that they have confidence in the future of our city and want to expand their footprint in the greatest city in the world.”
Despite the obvious enthusiasm of the city, Hudson Yards, and executives to get bodies back into the office in a big way, this enthusiasm isn’t exactly welcomed by the workers themselves, many of whom have grown accustomed to flexibility and comfort. provided by pandemic-spurred remote and hybrid work models.
Despite some workers’ reluctance to return to the office full-time, the 50 Yards development team appears confident that the building’s unique design, focus on wellness and sustainability (it’s targeting LEED Gold), and , of course, lots of luxe amenities. will serve as a sweetener. “Designed as a building within a building, Fifty Hudson Yards combines the exquisite services of a boutique luxury office building with wide, column-free floorplates, high ceilings and sweeping skyline and river views, for to an employee experience like no other,” said a press release.
Oxford president Michael Turner added: “The purpose of the office has changed, and today the world’s best workplace is an experience that inspires employees, supports learning and teaching and serves as an extension of a company’s brand. company. Fifty Hudson Yards achieves all this and more.
Featuring a facade of glass and hand-carved Italian marble, Foster + Partners’ boxy tower fits comfortably into Hudson Yards’ dizzying vertical landscape dotted with office and residential towers designed by the likes of KPF, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and SOM. The interiors of 50 Hudson Yards were designed by the firm in collaboration with Tony Ingrao, with striking spaces including a lofty, double-height lobby with a “unique” spiral staircase leading to a mezzanine-level private and bar and lounge; a reservable event space on the 32nd floor featuring a variety of gathering areas “fit the most luxurious hotels; and Upstairs at Fifty Hudson Yards, a building-leading amenity space described by the developers as an “exclusive service offering that introduces a new paradigm for office benefits directed by the building’s dedicated concierge.”
The aforementioned works by Frank Stella, a pair of large-scale abstract sculptures made from painted steel, aluminum and fiberglass, are located in the ground-level lobby area.
Notably, a staggering 94 elevators (!) service the building. Norman Foster, founder and executive chairman of Foster + Partners, said the “unique elevator strategy and unique building space planning gives the tower’s primary users their own lobbies, exclusive access and separate identities .”
“Our project is a response to the site within Hudson Yards, but its geometry also respects the broader context of the New York street grid,” added Foster, who also called the flexibility-minded, column-free floorplate , spacious building ceiling height. , and a direct connection via tunnel to the 34th Street–Hudson Yards subway station.
Clear across town, Foster + Partners is also celebrating the grand opening of 425 Park Avenue this week, another glassy, towering office tower that replaces a (partially demolished) landmark modernist skyscraper that once stood on the site.
Back at Hudson Yards, the big news of late, in addition to the opening of its newest office tower, is Related’s partnership with Wynn Resorts to bring a casino to Manhattan’s far west side as part of the second phase of development. Last week, developer SL Green Realty and gambling giant Caesars Entertainment jumped into the proverbial ring with competing bids that would see a casino in the heart of Times Square, a plan that has already been greeted with major pushback from the community. Broadway.