The KPF team celebrates the groundbreaking of One Vanderbilt. Pictured L to R: Andrew Cleary, Dominic Dunn, Katsunori Shigemi, Jeff Kenoff, James von Klemperer, Rachel Villalta, A. Eugene Kohn, Darina Zlateva, and Nicole McGlinn
James von Klemperer and Gene Kohn join One Vanderbilt stakeholders at the groundbreaking
One Vanderbilt shovels ready for action!
One Vanderbilt shovels line the site with the west facade of Grand Central Terminal to the right.
On Tuesday, October 18th, SL Green and Kohn Pedersen Fox celebrated the groundbreaking of One Vanderbilt, set to be the second tallest tower in New York.
The KPF and SL Green team was joined by elected officials and partners, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Councilmember Dan Garodnick at an on-site groundbreaking ceremony.
One Vanderbilt will encompass an entire city block, bounded by Madison and Vanderbilt Avenues to the west and east, and East 43rd and East 42nd Streets to the north and south. Standing 1,401 feet tall, the building’s tapered form will pay tribute to New York’s iconic skyscrapers, while its sharp lines and bold angles will punctuate Manhattan’s skyline with an elegant, 21st-century articulation. At its base along 42nd Street, the building will set back at an angle to permanently reveal Grand Central’s majestic Vanderbilt cornice – a view that has been obstructed for nearly a century.
More than any other privately-developed building in the city’s history, One Vanderbilt fits into New York City’s network of public transportation, offering a blend of private enterprise and the public realm. Through SL Green’s $220 million public infrastructure investment, One Vanderbilt will transform the commuting experience for hundreds of thousands of travelers coming and going through Grand Central each day. Specifically, this package of infrastructure upgrades will create a new jewel box transit hall in the base of One Vanderbilt, a new 14,000 square foot pedestrian plaza on Vanderbilt Avenue, and enhanced access into and out of the Grand Central complex for riders of the city subway system, Metro-North, and future Long Island Railroad East Side Access. Construction is expected to be complete in 2020.
James von Klemperer, President of Kohn Pedersen Fox, said “One Vanderbilt will not only emerge as an elegant, tapered new icon on the New York skyline, but will also serve as a leading example of a global trend of connecting train stations to tall towers. This building will change its neighborhood for the better. It will provide a new gateway to the city made possible only through the unusually harmonious partnership between architect, developer, and the City of New York.”