A historic investment in New York City’s future

In the early 1900s, the area around the new Grand Central Terminal was redeveloped as Terminal City, a mixed-use district that was among the first large-scale transit-oriented developments in the United States. Today, the site directly east of the terminal, currently home to a 34-story hotel, brims with untapped potential. SOM’s design for 175 Park Avenue seizes the opportunity to contribute to the renewal of East Midtown as a world-class business district, and to upgrade the transit infrastructure and public space that surround it. A LEED Platinum-targeting skyscraper, combining offices and a new hotel, will bring greater density above transit, while significantly improving the pedestrian and commuter experience at Grand Central.

Bold architecture and engineering

175 Park Avenue is encircled by a rich variety of New York City landmarks that range in style from Romanesque Revival to Art Deco and modernism. The design of the new tower responds to this eclectic mix, while asserting an identity that is entirely new. From human-scaled public spaces at the base, the tower steps back as it rises, and graces the skyline with a crown of interlaced steel—a material that evokes the Chrysler and Socony-Mobil buildings, two of its prominent neighbors.

The structural lattice represents SOM’s signature synthesis of architecture and engineering. The metal columns intertwine into two bundles on 42nd Street; below ground, they navigate a multistory tangle of underground rail tracks and anchor into the limited available bedrock. At street level, the bundles are set away from the edge of the property line, a configuration that widens the sidewalk to improve circulation outside Grand Central.

Above the building’s base the columns fan out, opening like a curtain to welcome the public inside, before rising in strong verticals that emphasize the tower’s height. Three setbacks provide space for landscaped terraces, and at these floors, the structural columns slope inward, becoming tall buttresses that reintegrate into the latticework. At the apex, the columns weave into a delicate tracery of metal and glass.

Creating a flexible workplace

175 Park Avenue is suited for a variety of tenants. The setbacks divide four different sizes of floors, with the extra-large floor plates at the bottom and smaller, boutique offices toward the top, just below the hotel. The interior is entirely column-free, maximizing space and offering tenants the ability to adapt their workplace. High-performance glazing, with rounded glass corners, brings in daylight from every edge of the building. At the three private terrace levels, tenants will experience 360-degree views of the city, with protected outdoor spaces and the opportunity to create amenities inside.

Public terraces in Midtown

The main lobby, on 42nd Street, sits between two grand staircases that lead pedestrians up to elevated public spaces. Wrapping the building to provide the city with 24,000 square feet of new open space, these terraces create vantage points of the surrounding landmarks, away from the bustle of the street. The western terrace connects with the Pershing Square Viaduct, an elevated road originally conceived for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. By opening a pedestrian space at the level of the viaduct, the project  allows visitors to face Grand Central’s eastern facade for the first time.

Improving Grand Central

The redevelopment of this site unlocks the full potential of the world’s largest train station. At the base of the tower, a new transit hall adds 5,400 square feet of new space to Grand Central, a significant expansion to a congested portion of the terminal. The subway turnstiles, currently located in a small space underground, will be relocated to the larger transit hall at street level with a new staircase, escalator, and elevator. This new vertical circulation, along with a series of major subterranean changes—from the removal of dozens of old girders that disrupted foot traffic to new passageways connecting the subway with Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road—will markedly improve the commuter experience. 

The transit hall will come with 10,000 square feet of retail in the base of the tower, a direct connection to the lobby, and additional entrances into the terminal on Lexington Avenue. Throughout all these public spaces, stone finishes complement the materiality of Grand Central, and a skylight in the transit hall offers dramatic views of the Beaux-Arts landmark.