Rendering of Midtown office tower (Credit: BYENCORE)
Two years ago, Gary Barnett's Extell Development moved to demolish ten buildings centered around the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 47th Street in the Diamond District. While much of the development site has been cleared, Extell's plans remain unknown.
Recently, the visual gurus at BYENCORE posted a rendering showing a glass-clad tower rising from Extell's assemblage. The image shows the 11-floor corner office building at 576 Fifth Avenue in the foreground and the Extell-developed International Gem Tower in the background. The shown tower would have large floor plates ideal for offices, a sizeable cantilever, and projecting fins giving the facade a crystalline appearance. The architect and specific details of the design are unknown.
It is estimated that zoning allows for a tower north of 300,000 square feet. In 2016, the New York Post reported that Extell may be considering an "internal" shopping mall within the project's podium and an apartment tower or hotel rising above. With 2018's crowded and lackluster residential market, it wouldn't be farfetched to assume offices could be in play — the site is the center of Midtown after all and a stone's throw from Rockefeller Center.
Demolished buildings at the site include 562-564 Fifth Avenue and 3-13 West 46th Street. The 47th Street frontage Extell owns has yet to be cleared. (September 2018, CityRealty)
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