Renderings courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group and Wildflower Ltd.

The star power involved with Robert de Niro’s planned production studio in Astoria continues to grow. The development group—which includes developer Wildflower Ltd, Raphael De Niro, and Jane Rosenthal—has just revealed a first look at the 650,000-square-foot facility designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The $400 million project, called Wildflower Studios, will establish a hub for the creation of film, television, and other forms of entertainment, including augmented reality and virtual reality. The facility is expected to create more than 1,000 daily union jobs.

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The north end of Central Park around the Harlem Meer is one of its most beautiful vistas, but because of the large, obtrusive Lasker Rink and Pool, it is currently disconnected from the North Woods below it, as well as the rest of the park. To better connect the area, the Central Park Conservancy and the City of New York today revealed a $150 million project to build a new pool and rink that will bring year-round recreation, as well as integrate into the surrounding landscape and restore lost pedestrian connections.

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Photo of One Vanderbilt © 6sqft

The Grand Central Terminal-adjacent supertall One Vanderbilt officially topped out this week, reaching its full 1,401-foot height. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the tower is now Midtown’s tallest office building and the fourth-tallest skyscraper in New York City. One Vanderbilt, developed by SL Green, measures 1.7 million square feet and boasts a unique terra cotta facade as well as the fourth-highest observation deck in the city.

Another supertall makes its mark

Rendering courtesy of COOKFOX

The entire city block bound by 11th and 12th Avenues and 27th to 28th Streets in West Chelsea is occupied by the Terminal Warehouse complex, a former freight distribution hub built in 1891. After losing its place in the shipping industry in the 1930s, it then became infamous in the 1980s and ’90s as the home of The Tunnel nightclub. Now, after years as a mini-storage facility and commercial offices, the structure will once again see new life, this time as a wholistic, modern office complex. L&L Holding and Normandy Real Estate Partners have partnered with COOKFOX architects to adaptively reuse the building, preserving and restoring its historic elements, as well as to add shops and restaurants on street level, a central courtyard, and a contemporary glass addition.

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Central Park Tower in early Sept., Photo © 6sqft

Central Park Tower officially topped out on Tuesday, breaking the record set by nearby 432 Park Avenue for the tallest residential building in the world. Reaching 1,550 feet high, the skyscraper at 217 West 57th Street would be the tallest building in New York City if not for the 400-foot spire of One World Trade, as New York Magazine reported. Developed by supertall-specialists Extell, Central Park Tower includes a seven-story Nordstrom flagship store and 179 luxury condos.

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Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

It’s your chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at one of New York City’s most impressive architecture firms. 6sqft and Untapped Cities are joining forces to offer tours of studios of the city’s top architectural and design firms. In the most recent installment, you can tour the Financial District studio of CetraRuddy, the firm behind the tower One Madison, Tribeca’s 443 Greenwich Street, and the Lincoln Square Synagogue. Led by principals at the firm, the tour takes participants through the office, explaining their sustainable interiors and usage of technology. For a chance to win a pair of tickets, enter our raffle below!

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Image courtesy of Two Trees Management.

Two Trees Management announced yesterday the opening of the second building to rise at Williamsburg‘s Domino Sugar Factory site at the corner of Grand Street and Kent Avenue. Designed by COOKFOX Architects, One South First is a mixed-use 45-story building within the newly-created six-acre Domino Park that includes 330 rental apartments, office space and retail. Unique features include a distinct facade inspired by the structure of sugar crystals in honor of the site’s history as a sugar manufacturing plant. The building is now the neighborhood’s tallest tower at 435 feet, and it makes use of every inch of that height with dazzling amenities that include an outdoor granite pool overlooking the East River and City skyline.

New views, this way

Image via Purpleturtle52 on Wiki Commons

Plans to restore the Philip Johnson-designed New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park have been inching along slowly over the past five years. Now, the project finally has a construction start date, Untapped Cities reported. Work will begin by the end of the month and is expected to be completed in March 2021. As 6sqft previously reported, the project has acquired just over $24 million in funding from the Mayor’s office, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, City Council, and a FEMA grant for Hurricane Sandy repairs.

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Via Wikimedia

The skylight atop the $3.9 billion World Trade Center Transportation Hub Oculus won’t open this year on September 11, according to the Port Authority. It was announced this week that the skylight–comprised of 224 panes of glass on 40 motorized panels designed by Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava–has a leaking problem and will remain closed for this year’s anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The skylight was intended to open and close, releasing a beam of light into the Oculus space at precisely 10:28 A.M. each year to mark the moment the north tower of the World Trade Center fell.

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Renderings courtesy of The Boundary

With the construction of Álvaro Siza’s Hell’s Kitchen tower well underway and sales expected to launch later this month, the project website and a new batch of renderings have been released, revealing new project details and a first peek at the interiors designed by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. The rising 37-story tower at 611 West 56th Street will be the Pritzker Prize-winning architect’s first high-rise in the United States and largest project to date. Unlike most other starchitect projects in NYC, it stands out for its restraint and simplicity, hallmarks of Siza’s approach to design.

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