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21 Awesome Facts About One Vanderbilt

It’s one of the newest additions to the New York City skyline and not surprisingly a new amazing NYC Skyscraper.

In this post, you’ll discover the ultimate list of facts about One Vanderbilt, a fascinating building in the Big Apple.

1. What is One Vanderbilt?

One Vanderbilt is a new supertall skyscraper in the center of Manhattan, New York City. It’s also referred to as “One Vanderbilt Place” and is named after the street it’s located on.

facts about one vanderbilt
One Vanderbilt / Mr 167 / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

2. Where is One Vanderbilt located?

One of the newest skyscrapers in New York City is bounded by Vanderbilt Avenue, 42nd Street, 43rd Street, and Madison Avenue.

This block is located in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan, just west of New York’s iconic Grand Central Terminal which is part of the “Terminal City Area.”

Grand central terminal new york
Grand Central Terminal / Eric Baetscher / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

3. How tall is One Vanderbilt?

The skyscraper will have a total of 73 floors and a total roof height of 1,301 feet (397 meters). The height of the antenna is 1,401 feet (427 meters).

The tower will have an observatory that offers amazing views of the skyline of New York City at a height of 1,020 feet (310.9 meters).

Want to get a sneak peek of the views the tower will offer?

Here you can get 360-degree views from just about any floor of the building!

One Vanderbilt Facts
One of the highest skyscrapers in New York / Source

4. It’s one of the highest buildings in New York


Art-Facts Youtube Channel

With an architectural height of 1,401 feet (427 meters), One Vanderbilt is one of the tallest buildings in New York. Only “One World Trade Center,” (1,776 ft – 541 m) the “Central Park Tower,” (1,550 ft – 472 m), and “111 West 57th Street” (1,428 ft – 435 m) will be taller.

This means it will become the 4th tallest building in the city!

one vanderbilt central park tower
One Vanderbilt and Central Park Tower / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

5. It’s taller than the most iconic skyscrapers

This also means that it will be taller than some of the most iconic skyscrapers in the city as well such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, as well as Rockefeller Plaza inside the Rockefeller Center complex.

One of the most interesting facts about One Vanderbilt is that both older skyscrapers have more floors (102 and 77 respectively) than the new skyscraper in town while being much shorter.

The reason for this is that the new skyscraper will have floors that have a ceiling that is 14.6 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6.1 m) high!

interesting facts about the empire state building

6. It was built by a real estate company

The developer of the skyscraper is SL Green Realty, a real estate company that was founded by Stephen L. Green as S.L. Green Properties, Inc, in 1980 before it changed to its current name in 1997.

SL Green Realty is a public company and claims to be the biggest owner of office space in all of Manhattan.

One of their most notable acquisitions happened in 2005 when they acquired the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, which was the tallest building in the world between 1909 and 1913 when it was surpassed by the Woolworth Building.

After their purchase, they remodeled the old skyscraper and turned its space into condominiums.

the Met Building
The Met Life Building. / Beyond my Ken / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

7. This is why One Vanderbilt was built

Two things came together for One Vanderbilt to be constructed. The first thing was New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and his plan to rezone Midtown East in Manhattan.

The second thing was the fact that office space in New York keeps on being in high demand, so SL Green Realty was on the lookout for a new skyscraper to satisfy this demand for office space.

8. Construction started in 2016

The demolition of the buildings that were occupying the site started in 2015 and the official groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 18, 2016.

This occasion was attended by New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and the executives of SL Green Realty.

1 vanderbuilt demolition
Demolition before construction started / Jim Henderson / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

9. The tower topped out in 2019

The tower topped out on September 17, 2019, which was 2 months ahead of schedule. The completion date is estimated to be the year of writing this post, someday in 2020.

construction August 2018
Construction in August 2018 / Jim Henderson / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

10. A “bribe” was needed to start construction

When the plans for the skyscraper were announced, the owner of the land under Grand Central Terminal, Andrew Pearson, who is the founder of Midtown TDR Ventures, threatened to sue SL Green Realty for over $1 billion concerning air rights.

The competing real estate company offered a settlement in the form of an undisclosed amount and the suit was dropped.

Facts about one vanderbilt
One Vanderbilt facade / MainlyTwelve / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Quick Facts about One Vanderbilt

11. Construction started in 2016 and is expected to be finished in 2020.

12. The cost to build the skyscrapers is estimated to be around USD 3.31 billion.

13. The tower will have a total of 73 floors and a total of 42 elevators.

14. The total floor area of the tower is 1,750,212 square feet (162,600.0 square meters).

15. The roof is 1,301 feet (397 meters) high and the antenna is exactly 100 feet higher at 1,401 feet (427 meters).

16. The lead architect of One Vanderbilt is Kohn Pedersen Fox, one of the largest architecture firms in New York which operates internationally and is most famously known for its work on the Shanghai World Financial Center.

17. The structural engineer of the tower is New York-based Severud Associates, best known for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and Madison Square Garden in New York.

18. The construction includes an improved terminal for the nearby subway station and increases its capacity by over 65,000 passengers.

19. Upon completion, One Vanderbilt will be among the 30 highest skyscrapers in the world. Not quite as high as Burj Khalifa (highest right now), Jeddah Tower (soon to be highest), or the Sky Mile Tower (highest in the distant future), but definitely high enough to define a “new” New York skyline!

20. The tower has been praised for its environmental-friendly model. It’s been described as a rare “civic-minded Goliath,” as it’s one of the few skyscrapers that wasn’t just built for profit but puts a lot of importance on accessibility and pedestrian areas.

21. The developer of the tower, SL Green Realty, described the tower s not just another office building but a real landmark of the city of New York.

interesting facts about one vanderbilt
One Vanderbilt, defining the New York skyline. / Source

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