Last December, plans were unfurled for 130 William, a reverential new skyscraper to jostle amongst the spired giants of lower Manhattan. Conceived by Ghana-born architect David Adjaye, the tower’s design draws inspiration from the masonry architecture found throughout the Financial District while embracing several African motifs still unknown to our variegated urban landscape.
To take a step back into colonial times, and you'll find that Africans were among the first non-indigenous people to live on Manhattan island — arriving as slaves in 1626 when the Dutch West India Company brought 11 Angolans to the nascent colony. At the foot of Wall Street, a cobblestone’s throw away from the project site, was the city’s slave market, which operated from 1711 to 1762. According to Sylviane Diouf of the New York Public Library, by 1730, 42 percent of the city's population owned slaves — second only to Charleston. “The enslaved population—which ranged between 15 and 20 percent of the total—literally built the city and was the engine that made its economy run,” Diouf. Now 400 years later, the continent whose people contributed much towards the advent of the city and country will have a distinct marker at the forefront of the world’s most iconic skyline.
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New York's slave market on the East River stood at what is today the corner of Wall and Pearl streets
But of course, the development team would probably prefer us to not to load the project with such symbolic emotion – it is a luxury condominium after all. Instead, we can note that the project has achieved two small construction milestones in its journey against the sky: crews have reached street level and standing upright is a red kangaroo crane that will bring the rectangular tower to its full 66-floor, nearly 800-foot-tall summit.
130 William’s L-shaped plot was assembled by Midtown-based Lightstone in early 2015. After the demolition of several buildings at the site, construction began in earnest in early 2017. Later that year, the team secured a $305 million construction loan from Meridian Capital Group to build the $520 million venture.
Project site as of early April (CityRealty)
Now starting to rise above grade
Arrow marks 130 William's tower crane and position on the skyline (CityRealty)
Views to the northeast over the East River with the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges
There will be 244 for-sale residences inside, many with their own outdoor loggia spaces. Complete details on pricing and finishes are not yet available but renderings show an undeniably opulent affair highlighted with glints of gold and an ocean liner of private promenade decks wrapping the spaces. Known amenities include a swimming pool, sports court, screening room, two communal terraces and a rooftop observatory. Situated near the edge of downtown’s high-rise cluster, the building will benefit from unobstructed views of the East River and its bridges, and north towards Midtown. The project is scheduled for completion in 2020.
Interior
Landscaped entrance along William Street
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New Developments Editor
Ondel Hylton
Ondel is a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city's dynamic urban landscape.
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