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555 West 37th Street (center) and Midtown's far west side skyline as seen in early October 2020 (CityRealty) 555 West 37th Street (center) and Midtown's far west side skyline as seen in early October 2020 (CityRealty)
Rockrose Development, the legendary apartment builder behind many of city's most salient rental towers is raising their tallest building to date on Manhattan's Far West Side. To soar 52 floors, 565 feet tall, 555 West 38th Street will bring online nearly 600 apartments catering to locals who who desire to live, work, and play within a contained geography.

Sited three blocks north of Related-Oxford's Hudson Yards master plan and across from the expanding Javits Center, the tower's Eleventh Avenue locations will benefit from eternal waterfront views as long as the convention center at its front door remains. Upon a global victory against COVID-19 in the coming year(s), the Hudson Yards area promises to face an increasing demand for apartments as many major corporations have planted their roots in the new and forthcoming office towers nearby.
555-West-38th-Street-04 555 West 38th Street (Renderings courtesy of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and SLCE)

In this article:

Lyra, 555 West 38th Street
Lyra, 555 West 38th Street Midtown West
Hudson Yards skyline-04 The tower rises at the forefront of the Hudson Yards skyline and is already making its mark from the Hudson River
555-West-37th-Street-04 The reflective glass and metal skin sparkles in the afternoon
555-West-37th Street construction The tower is nearly halfway up and is approaching its north-facing setback
The main entrance will be on West 38th Street
555 West 38th Street The ground floors will have retail that will hopefully bring some street life to the still rather desolate area (SLCE Architects)
555-West-37th-Street-04 The angling elements of the facade can already be discerned
The building will eventually be lost in a sea of massive glass skyscrapers
According to a a 2019 story from Crain's New York, Rockrose acquired the final package of development rights from the MTA to bring the tower to its gargantuan 400,000-square-foot size. The team paid $20.5 million for 139,000 square feet of air rights which equates to $147 per square foot.
Pelli Clarke Pelli in collaboration with SLCE are the architects and renderings depict a glass- and metallic-clad spire with a subtly angled elevation facing Eleventh Avenue. The tower is just half of a 1.6 million-square-foot development Rockrose is planning for the block. Rockrose President Justin Elghanayan told The Real Deal last year that they are planning to build a 1.2 million-square-foot office tower next door at 99 Hudson Boulevard.
99 Hudson Boulevard 99 Hudson Boulevard is a 1.2 MSF office tower planned directly east of 555 West 37th Street (Rockrose)
Building permits first filed in September 2018 show there will be 591 apartments and ground-floor retail. Tenants will be treated to 16,000 square feet of amenities says Crain's. This includes a fitness center, a 33rd-floor landscaped roof deck, a game room, golf simulator, squash court, and bicycle parking.

Other developments to start construction nearby include a 48-floor tower by Joseph Chetrit at 545 West 37th Street, the stalled Hudson Rise project at 470 Eleventh Avenue, and a 51-floor, 379-key hotel one block south at 450 Eleventh Avenue. Siverstein Properties also plans a massive mixed-use residential and office development just to the north at 520 West 41st Street.
The Far West Side (CityRealty)

New Developments Editor Ondel Hylton Ondel is a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city's dynamic urban landscape.