50 West Street is a 64-story, tall mixed-use retail and residential

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

tower developed by Time Equities Inc. in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It contains 191 residential units.

Site

The building is located on 50 West Street, in the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

neighborhood of

. The site borders a high-rise rental building called 90 Washington to the north while being surrounded by a privately owned parking garage to the south and east of the structure.

Architecture

The building is designed by architect

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liberty ...

, known for works such as the

Messeturm The Messeturm, or Trade Fair Tower, is a 63-storey, skyscraper in the Westend-Süd district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany and the third tallest building in the E ...

in Frankfurt,

CitySpire CitySpire (also known as CitySpire Center) is a mixed-use skyscraper at 150 West 56th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1990 and designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the building measures tall with 75 ...

, the

Park Avenue Tower Park Avenue Tower (also 65 East 55th Street) is a building on Park Avenue, between 55th Street and 56th Street, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The office building developed by Park Tower Realty opened in 1986 and has a height of . Park Ave ...

and 425 Lexington Avenue in New York City. The tower of curved glass is supposed to provide panoramic views of

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. In order to achieve a possible Gold

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

rating, the building includes sustainable technologies, such as a

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, automated blinds and energy control systems. A total of 3,000 panels of glass were to be installed, with each pane weighing up to , framed by

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

, and braced by

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

panels that are made in Italy. Five hundred of them are curved, and can cost 300 to 500 percent more than flat glass. According to Jahn, no other building uses curved glass in such volume, from street level to penthouse level. 50 West has been compared with nearby

17 State Street 17 State Street is a 42-story office building along State Street and Battery Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1988, it was designed by Roy Gee for Emery Roth and Sons for developers William Kauf ...

, highly appreciated by its "beautiful curved and reflective glass facade", with one author writing that it is a "complementary form and a updated take". Whereas 17 State's facade finishes with a more traditional top, 50 West's curves run in a single vertical gesture right to the edge of the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

at the top, stopping only for a minor setback near the pinnacle. The base of the building is bowed outwards in a curved

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

, adding a further sensation of verticality, with a view to open up space for the Ward's Walk between the building and the Battery Garage immediately to the south. Within each condominium at 50 West Street, interior designer Thomas Juul-Hansen has crafted interiors with luxurious finishes and spacious layouts.

Construction

Developer Time Equities purchased the former office building at 50 West Street in 1983. On June 7, 2007, the skyscraper designs were presented by Time Equities' CEO Francis J. Greenburger to the Financial District, Battery Park City and Quality of Life committees of Community Board 1. On October 5, 2007, they were approved by the City Planning Commission. Initially the building plans fought opposition arising from the fact that the tower did not include money for

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

, but later a $5 million agreement settled this situation, including $430,000 to local P.S./I.S. 89 for a computer science program. The site was occupied by two buildings, one of them being a 1912 building, known as the Crystal Building that has a 3-story-high

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

, which were demolished between the end of 2007 and the first months of 2008. Developer Time Equities broke ground in June 2008 on a 66-story hotel/condo tower at 50 West Street. By the fall of 2008, construction work had stopped due to the

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...

, and, according to Mr. Greenberger, was saved for better times. In 2011, the developer obtained new construction permits. The hotel, which was planned to be located in the first fourteen floors, was discarded and substituted by multilevel retail space. In addition, after damage from

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

in 2012, the developers decided to make the building flood-resistant by rising the sill height on the ground floor and using

floodgate Floodgates, also called stop gates, are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and c ...

s at the entrances, as well as moving the

mechanical room A mechanical room, boiler room or plant room is a room or space in a building dedicated to the mechanical equipment and its associated electrical equipment, as opposed to rooms intended for human occupancy or storage. Unless a building is serve ...

to higher floors. In August 2013, Time Equities' CEO Francis Greenburger secured a $288 million loan from

PNC Financial Services The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the D ...

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

M&T Bank M&T Bank Corporation (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company) is an American bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It operates 1680 branches in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts ...

MUFG Union Bank MUFG Union Bank (stylized as UnionBank), is a nationally chartered full-service bank with 398 branches in California, Washington and Oregon which was wholly owned by MUFG Americas Holdings and has been acquired by U.S. Bancorp. Formerly known ...

MidFirst Bank MidFirst Bank is a privately owned financial institution based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is the largest privately owned bank in the United States, with $34.7 billion in assets. Its primary markets include Oklahoma, Denver, Phoenix and Dallas ...

, and

Emigrant Bank Emigrant Bank (formerly Emigrant Savings Bank) is a private American financial institution. It is the oldest savings bank in New York City and it was the ninth-largest privately owned bank in America in 2012, with assets of $8.1 billion. As of June ...

. An additional $110 million in equity was raised from hedge fund

Elliott Management Corporation Elliott Investment Management is an American investment management firm. It is also one of the largest activist funds in the world. It is the management affiliate of American hedge funds Elliott Associates L.P. and Elliott International Limit ...

, and work was resumed after a five-year delay. In December 2013, Time Equities launched a teaser website for 50 West Street which revealed new renderings and showcased the panoramic views of the tower. Facing south, landmarks like

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

, the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

, and

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

can be seen. Sales started in spring 2014 and construction was scheduled to be completed in 2016. The building

topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

in September 2015. Occupancy began in 2017. Their campaign called 'Defy the Laws of Luxury' was launched in October 2016. The campaign won two 2016-2017

ADDY Awards The American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest national advertising trade association in the United States. The AAF also has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region o ...

, one for Online/Interactive Website and one for Still Photography.

Amenities

The building contains 191 residential units, ranging from one to four bedrooms, including an array of duplexed and double height living rooms throughout all the tower. and two penthouses. Sales for available units range in price from $1,960,000 to $22,645,000. Four floors of the building are devoted to state-of-the-art amenities such as a water club including a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, hot tub, fitness room, a lounge with sofas, private screening room, children's playroom, game room, demonstration kitchen and dining room, library, as well as a dining terrace. The building has an open air, private

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed ...

that sits in the 64th floor atop the building at . It is equipped with binocular tower viewers, barbecue stations and private dining areas.

References

External links