New York is set to get a giant new skyscraper which would tower over Grand Central and be the third-tallest building in America.
Known as Project Commodore, the 83-storey building at 175 Park Avenue will soar to 1,545ft and feature a steel lattice wrapped around a glass facade, giving a striking woven appearance.
Once complete, it will stand five feet shorter than Central Park Tower – making it the third-tallest building in both NYC and the US.
Developers have already filed permits for the development, which will replace the Hyatt Grand Central New York hotel next to the iconic station.
But building it will not be straightforward. One of the biggest engineering challenges is the maze of underground rail lines beneath the site.
Architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) said the tower’s huge steel columns will weave around the infrastructure and then anchor into limited bedrock below 42nd Street.
At street level, the giant supports will be set back from the pavement to create more space for pedestrians around the busy station entrance.
The tower tapers as it rises with a series of landscaped outdoor terraces overlooking Midtown.
Inside, the development will mainly contain office space with large column-free floors, alongside a boutique hotel.
Plans also include a new transit hall linked directly to Grand Central, plus extra retail space and improved pedestrian routes around the station.
Although the project has already secured preliminary approval, demolition work has not yet started. The Hyatt – which was a redevelopment of the historic The Commodore Hotel – is still taking bookings through April 2027.
SOM expects the landmark skyscraper to be completed in 2032.
New York – and America’s – tallest building is One World Trade, coming in at 1,776ft and on the site of the Twin Towers. Central Park is some way behind, currently followed by the Willis Tower in Chicago (1,450ft.)
All of these structures are dwarfed by the world’s tallest buildings, with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa taking the top spot at a lofty 2,717ft. Second place goes to Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur (2,227ft) with Shanghai Tower coming in third (2,073ft).
One World Trade is at seventh spot, its height chosen to reflect the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Last week, proposals to transform London’s 620ft BT Tower were revealed.