The under-construction Central Park Tower apparently has taken the lead in the never-ending race to be the tallest building in New York City.
The website New York Yimby reports that Extell Development has tweaked its design plans and now will exclude a 245-foot spire at the top of Central Park Tower. Instead, the tower's roof height will gain 20 feet to 1,550 feet tall.
That would make the skinny, 99-floor, 1.3-million-sf Central Park Tower—located at 217 West 57th Street, whose completion is scheduled for 2019—182 feet taller than One World Trade Center’s roof level (One WTC also has a 408-foot-high beacon sitting atop its parapet.) Currently, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower in Chicago.
Gary Barnett of Extell told the New York Post last Spring that his firm never intended for Central Park Tower to exceed the total height of One WTC. Still, since the Chrysler Building rose to 1,048 feet—a height abetted by a late-inning addition of a 185-foot-spire—on October 16, 1929, to become the world’s tallest building at the time, developers have competed to see how high buildings could reach into the skies.
Right now, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai holds that honor, at 2,722 feet, or 700 feet taller than its nearest rival.
New York developers and their architects have been particularly susceptible to skyscraper envy, especially lately as the city’s residential real estate market has exploded with ever-taller luxury residential towers springing up and targeting ultra-rich buyers and tenants, many of whom seem to be looking for the latest trophy rather than someplace permanent to live.
On its website, the Skyscraper Museum shows how heights of buildings in New York have escalated over the years, and how dramatically taller buildings have risen recently. The graphic and information include the Central Park Tower, with its preliminary design that had included the spire. The base of this building will include a 200,000-sf Nordstrom department store.
Related Stories
High-rise Construction | Feb 14, 2018
BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati-designed Singapore skyscraper has open-air ‘oases’ at multiple levels
The new skyscraper will include “the office of the future.”
High-rise Construction | Dec 20, 2017
Another record year for high-rise construction
More than 140 skyscrapers were completed across the globe this year, including 15 supertall towers.
High-rise Construction | Oct 4, 2017
90-story mixed-use building could become Denver’s first supertall tower
Manhattan-based Greenwich Realty Capital is developing the project.
High-rise Construction | Sep 8, 2017
CTBUH determines fastest elevators and longest runs in the world in new TBIN Study
When it comes to the tallest skyscrapers in the world, the vertical commute in the building becomes just as important as the horizontal commute through the city.
Codes and Standards | Sep 5, 2017
New CTBUH initiatives to investigate link between fire and façades
In wake of Grenfell tragedy, Council forms new workgroup.
Mixed-Use | Aug 30, 2017
A 50-acre waterfront redevelopment gets under way in Tampa
Nine architects, three interior designers, and nine contractors are involved in this $3 billion project.
Codes and Standards | Aug 7, 2017
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat to create standards to measure floor area
The standards will examine existing codes and regulations to find where they are too broad or contentious.
High-rise Construction | Aug 1, 2017
Construction on the world’s skinniest tower halts due to ballooning costs
The planned 82-story tower has stalled after completing just 20 stories.
Wood | Jun 13, 2017
The first timber high-rise in the U.S. set for construction in Portland
The building’s design, building materials, and commercial tenants are all focused on the key aspect of sustainability.
Office Buildings | May 30, 2017
How tech companies are rethinking the high-rise workplace
Eight fresh ideas for the high-rise of the future, from NBBJ Design Partner Jonathan Ward.
