Khadem al Qubaisi, the chairman of Aabar Investment, a company controlled by the Abu Dhabi Government, has confirmed that his company has acquired a majority stake in Extell Development's planned mixed-use project at 157 West 57th Street across from Carnegie Hall, according to an article published today by Bradley Hope in The National, the English language newspaper in Abu Dhabi.
Mr. al Qubaisi said that the detail with Extell could be the start of several property projects in New York, the article said, adding that "Last year, the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Council bought a 75 per cent stake in the iconic Chrysler building in midtown Manhattan."
A partial building permit was issued by New York City for the project September 24, 2009 for a 73-story, 953-foot-high project with a total of 1,493,514 square feet. The permit indicated that the mixed-use project would include 150 apartments and a "schedule A" on file with the Department of Buildings indicated that it would have attended parking for 64 cars, a hotel on the lower 20 floors, and apartments on floors 22 through 46, 48 through 72.
James Davidson of SLCE Architect was the architect who filed the papers and Christian de Portzamparc is the design architect. His design has not been publicly shown but Mr. Hope's article said that Gary Barnett, the head of Extell, said the 57th Street development would be "very unusual" and "one of the greatest buildings in the last 50 years" because of its prime location and ambitious design. Mr. Portzamparc is the architect for several Extell projects further west and close to the Hudson River.
Extell has another major development site nearby further west on 57th Street.
The tower at 157 West 57th Street would be taller than the tall trio of skyscrapers just to the south: Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower on 57th Street and CitiSpire on 56th Street.
Mr. al Qubaisi said that the detail with Extell could be the start of several property projects in New York, the article said, adding that "Last year, the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Council bought a 75 per cent stake in the iconic Chrysler building in midtown Manhattan."
A partial building permit was issued by New York City for the project September 24, 2009 for a 73-story, 953-foot-high project with a total of 1,493,514 square feet. The permit indicated that the mixed-use project would include 150 apartments and a "schedule A" on file with the Department of Buildings indicated that it would have attended parking for 64 cars, a hotel on the lower 20 floors, and apartments on floors 22 through 46, 48 through 72.
James Davidson of SLCE Architect was the architect who filed the papers and Christian de Portzamparc is the design architect. His design has not been publicly shown but Mr. Hope's article said that Gary Barnett, the head of Extell, said the 57th Street development would be "very unusual" and "one of the greatest buildings in the last 50 years" because of its prime location and ambitious design. Mr. Portzamparc is the architect for several Extell projects further west and close to the Hudson River.
Extell has another major development site nearby further west on 57th Street.
The tower at 157 West 57th Street would be taller than the tall trio of skyscrapers just to the south: Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower on 57th Street and CitiSpire on 56th Street.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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