2 Penn Plaza

October 31, 2018

Vornado releases new renderings of $200M Penn Plaza redevelopment

REIT Vornado Realty Trust expects to be starting work on the first phase of renovation at Pennsylvania Plaza before the end of this year according to CEO Steve Roth, The Real Deal reports. The $200 million "megacampus" redevelopment project plan for the 2.5 million-square-foot building at One Penn Plaza–including a double-height lobby–is expected to be completed in two years. In 2016 Vornado released renderings for Two Penn Plaza by starchitect Bjarke Ingels. New renderings were released Wednesday on the company's website.
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May 2, 2018

Vornado likely to keep Bjarke Ingels’ wave-like canopy design for 2 Penn Plaza overhaul

Instead of razing and redeveloping its 2 Penn Plaza office tower, Vornado Realty Trust said on Tuesday it will simply renovate the building. As Commercial Observer reported, the company's CEO, Steven Roth, said earlier plans of demolishing the 31-story tower and grabbing 5 million square feet of development rights from Madison Square Garden to build a bigger tower, would not be feasible. Moving forward with option B, Vornado will likely stick with designs from Bjarke Ingels Group. More than two years ago, BIG revealed renderings that showed a wave-like canopy of glass panels that would envelope 2 Penn Plaza above the retail entrances on the ground floor.
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May 10, 2017

Finance firms in talks to move to Vornado’s proposed Hotel Pennsylvania-replacing supertall

Plans to replace the century-old Hotel Pennsylvania with a 1,216-foot office building have surfaced again. Financial firms Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are reportedly contemplating a move to Vornado Realty Trust’s planned supertall skyscraper, 15 Penn Plaza, according to the Post. Vornado first won the city’s approval in 2007 to build a supertall at the location of Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue and nearly signed a deal with Merrill Lynch to be a tenant until the financial crisis dissolved the agreement. This design, by Pelli Clarke Pelli, is being presented to the firms along with new options says a source.
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June 16, 2016

POLL: Do You Prefer Bjarke Ingels’ Wave-Like Tower or the Free-Fall Ride for Penn Station?

While Governor Cuomo is busy trying to make his plans for $3 billion in renovations at Penn Station a reality, developers are hot to come up with a new design for 2 Penn Plaza, the tower directly above the station and Madison Square Garden. Vornado Realty Trust, who owns roughly nine million square feet around Penn Station including 2 Penn Plaza, released renderings in March for a glassy, wave-like tower by starchitect of the moment Bjarke Ingels. The concept is quite a departure from the current, stale state of the site, but yesterday an even more futuristic idea came to the table. Brooklyn Capital Partners tapped AE Superlab to create a plan for the world's tallest free-fall tower ride above the station. "Halo," as it would be called, would rise 1,200 feet from the roof, have 11 cars, and move as quickly as 100 miles per hour, giving it a top-to-base free fall of about six seconds. BIG's design wouldn't change much in the way of 2 Penn Plaza's current configuration, but it would create more retail space at the base. Halo, though it would cost $637 million to build, claims it would bring in up to $38 million a year for the state. Since Brooklyn Capital is contending with Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies to upgrade the space, we want to know which of these ideas you think is a better fit.
Vote for your choice!
June 15, 2016

Developer Wants to Erect the World’s Tallest Free-Fall Ride Atop Penn Station

Observation decks boasting panoramic city views have been to date the way to add a "thrill-seeking" element to new developments, but here's a new proposal that really wants visitors to throw their arms up in excitement. As the Daily News first reports, two Brooklyn developers want to turn the top of Penn Station into the world's tallest free-fall tower ride, an idea that would be developed alongside all the renovations planned for the outdated transit hub. "Halo," as it would be called, is the work of AE Superlab and would rise an incredible 1,200 feet from the roof of Madison Square, or be tacked onto the back of the adjacent Farley Post Office, which is slated to be converted into a waiting hall to support expanding station. And in addition to Halo's towering height (to put that 1,200 feet in perspective, the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet at its parapet), the ride's 11 cars would boast adjustable speeds. Cars could be modified to move as quickly as 100 miles per hour giving it a top-to-base free fall of about six seconds.
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March 16, 2016

Bjarke Ingels Reveals Glassy Wave-Like Design for 2 Penn Plaza Overhaul

Another day, another reveal from Danish wunderkind Bjarke Ingels. This time the starchitect has taken on a project at much-loathed Penn Station, transforming 2 Penn Plaza (the tower directly above the station and Madison Square Garden) from a nondescript, monolithic slab to a shiny, playful tower. The renderings, first spotted by NY Yimby, show a somewhat typical glass mass, but the fun begins above the ground levels, where a wave-like canopy of glass panels ushers people in to a new retail base.
More details on the proposal