Snohetta Unveils Design of 50 West 66th Street, Chiseled Tower to Become Upper West Side's Tallest

By Ondel Hylton | From Future New York Monday, November 27, 2017

Snohetta's design for 50 West 66th Street in Manhattan???s Upper West Side. Courtesy of Binyan Studios and Extell Development

As we had already assumed, Gary Barnett’s Extell Development Company has much larger plans for their prime Upper West Side site at 50 West 66th Street near Central Park West. Though a rendering at the construction site shows a run-of-the-mill glass tower of just 25 floors, we figured the site was too prime and the foundations too deep for a middling tower that didn’t stretch for Central Park views.

Now, the mega-developer behind One57 and Central Park Tower has released the first set of images of what’s really proposed. According to Wallpaper, who first got their hands on the news, the Norwegian firm of Snøhetta are the project’s designers. They shaped a "chiseled" avant-garde design of chamfered corners and cutaways that are said to soften the scale of the building while creating a distinctive silhouette. Upon completion, the skyscraper will soar 775 feet tall, besting the 755-foot Time Warner Center to become the tallest building on the Upper West Side.

The through-block project will have a tower on base configuration and will be wrapped in a textured limestone façade that is to reflect the masonry palette common throughout the Upper West Side. Mid- to upper-floors will have divine views of Central Park and Midtown, while the podium will host a new synagogue and storefronts clad in bronze and glass. The residential entrance will be along tree-lined 66th Street and there will be 167 condos inside.

In October we noted that the project’s foundations are well underway and demolition on the 11-story Jewish Guild Building on 65th Street is now proceeding. Extell is working with Megalith Capital on the venture who purchased the former home of Congregation Habonim for $45 million and 3 additional office buildings owned by the Walt Disney Company for $85 million. The Real Deal reported that the developers have brought in Hong Kong-based Meridian Capital Limited as a partner.

Construction progress as of early October (CityRealty)

Demolition starting on the Jewish Guild Building

Google Earth aerial showing project location (CityRealty))

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