270 Park Avenue enclosed public space (with action); image from City Planning.

In late October, JPMorgan Chase announced the selection of Foster + Partners, led by British Pritzker Prize winner Norman Foster, as the architects of a new 70-story headquarters on the site of its current offices at 270 Park Avenue between East 47th and 48th streets, CityRealty reports. The plan, announced in February, represents the first major project under the 2017 Midtown East Rezoning Plan that upzoned 78 blocks of Midtown to allow for the construction of larger, more modern skyscrapers. The 70-floor, 1,400-foot height would make the new headquarters one of the tallest buildings in the city and the tallest office building by roof height.

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All photos © Max Touhey

With less than two years left until it reaches its full 1,401-foot height, One Vanderbilt has released a slew of new construction photos that showcase its insane views of the MetLife Building, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and beyond, how it relates to its famous neighbor Grand Central, and an up-close look at its unique terra cotta facade. Developed by SL Green and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 77-story office tower will become NYC’s fourth-tallest skyscraper when completed in the third quarter of 2020. The building is expected to reach 50 stories by the end of this year, and it’s already 37 percent leased.

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Via MikePScott’s Flickr

JPMorgan Chase has tapped starchitect Norman Foster to design its new 2.5 million-square-foot headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, as first reported by Bloomberg. The new 70-story tower would replace the bank’s current offices, located in the Union Carbide building. Foster + Partners designed the nearby office tower at 425 Park Avenue, as well as Apple’s spaceship-like headquarters in California.

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Via Terry Tynes on Flickr (CC)

Greenacre Park, a famed vest pocket park in Midtown, was added last week to the National Registry of Historic Places. Measuring just over 6,300 square feet, the tiny three-level park features a dramatic 25-foot-high waterfall in the middle of Second and Third Avenues on East 51st Street. “This beautiful park delivers a connection that builds social bonds with family, friends and community and I congratulate the Greenacre Foundation on this national recognition,” Rose Harvey, commissioner of NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said.

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While balmy October weather might help us forget the changing seasons, on the heels of fall holiday excitement comes the winter fun of ice skating outdoors. And that most iconic of ice skating venues, The Rink at Rockefeller Center, opens this Monday, October 8 in Midtown Manhattan.

Another year of skating fun

Via Wikimedia

Grand Central Terminal is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its retail renovation; the iconic terminal’s shops and restaurants will be offering 1998 pricing on select products and menu items on October 1. Participating businesses include Cafe Grumpy, The Campbell Bar, Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant, Moleskine, Dyptique and many more. In addition, there will be a special exhibition in Vanderbilt Hall celebrating the terminal’s storied 105-year history.

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Photo © 6sqft

The number of first responders who deserve to be honored for their courageous efforts after the September 11th attacks is many, but a new Midtown mural of one particular firefighter serves as a symbolic honor to all of those brave men and women. The Post first reported on the mural by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra, painted on eight-stories of a building on East 49th Street and Third Avenue. The image replicates a photo of FDNY member Mike Bellantoni “overcome with exhaustion and despair” on 9/11, originally taken by Post freelance photographer Matthew McDermott.

What did Bellantoni think of the photo?

Photo via Wikimedia

When the iconic Waldorf Astoria closed in 2017 for the massive renovation promised when Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group acquired it in 2014, the hotel’s future held jumbo condos and massive guest rooms. The fate of the Park Avenue landmark has been a topic of drama and discussion ever since, especially given the takeover of Anbang by the Chinese government after the incarceration of the company’s chairman, Wu Xiaohui, last year during a fraud investigation. The New York Post now reports that although contractor AECOM Tishman has signed a deal with Anbang and construction is underway for the promised 350 condos and 350 hotel rooms, the project’s completion date has been moved from 2020 to 2021.

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Photo of Trump via Michael Vadon on Flickr

You don’t need a security clearance to live below the President, but it might still be a challenge for whomever wants to buy the condo right below Donald Trump‘s Midtown residence. The Post reports that the duplex unit on the 64th and 65th floors of Trump Tower has just hit the market for $24.5 million and sources are saying it “directly adjoins” his bedroom. So how can the administration legally control the buyer? By convincing the condo Board to exercise a board waiver and buy the apartment themselves, according to the Post. And this may just work; a recent Business Insider investigation into a mysterious $1.5 million apartment Melania bought in the building shows that this was the only unit the Board had ever bought.

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Image via Wikimedia

In March, the Archdiocese of New York reached a deal to sell 30,000 square feet of development rights from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to MRP Realty and Deutsche Bank, the owners of 405 Park Avenue in Midtown East. But, as Crain’s reported on Thursday, an exclusive men-only club has undercut the Archdiocese by offering the developers the deal at a lower price. The Brook, known for its billionaire clientele, will sell its air rights over its property at 111 East 54th Street to the owners of 405 Park Avenue. The owners plan to use the air rights to add four new floors to the 17-story property, a high-end office building.

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