Midtown's future tallest office building, One Vanderbilt, can now move forward as planned. The developer of the skyscraper, SL Green Realty, announced today that a pending lawsuit from Midtown TDR Ventures (Argent Ventures) against the firm has been withdrawn. Argent president, Andrew Penson, owns the unused air rights of Grand Central Terminal and claimed that SL Green should be required to buy his air rights to account for the major increase in bulk granted to development by a city rezoning of the Vanderbilt Corridor.
Penson filed a $1.1 billion federal lawsuit last fall claiming that the project restricted his ability to sell 1.3 million square feet of air rights, which he estimated were worth close to $900 per square foot. According to a press release, "The settlement will resolve the legal claims against SL Green and the City of New York that Midtown TDR Ventures asserted to invalidate the Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning amendment and the One Vanderbilt special permit, thereby eliminating uncertainty surrounding the building."
Rendering by Visualhouse
Rendering by Visualhouse
Hailed to forever change the face of Midtown East and reinvigorate the Grand Central business district, the $3.1 billion, 1.7-million-square-foot supertall tower was unanimously approved by the City Council this past summer, granting SL Green approvals to begin construction of the supertower immediately. The full-block site at 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue is directly west of Grand Central Terminal, and as part of the development, SL Green will invest $220 million in public infrastructure in and around the area.
The tapering terracotta and glass spire will soar 1,501 feet into the New York City skyline, making it the third tallest building in the city. “This is a major milestone for the future of East Midtown, clearing the way for One Vanderbilt to deliver state-of-the-art Class A office space and a $220 million investment in Grand Central’s transit infrastructure,” said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green Realty Corp. The six pre-war buildings that stood at the site were recently demolished, giving passersby a limited time view looking through a full block lot in the high-density district.
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