MiMa, 450 West 42nd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 450 West 42nd Street by Carter Horsley

This sleek and striking, 63-story, mixed-use building at 450 West 42nd Street is a dark-glass tower designed for the Related Cos. by Arquitectonica, which is based in Miami.

Arquitectonica also was the architect of the colorful Westin Hotel on the northeast corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.

This building, which is known as MiMa for “Middle of Manhattan,” was designed to have 151 condominium apartments on the top 13 floors above 500 rental apartments below. It also contains a 669-room Yotel Hotel and the Signature Center complex of three theaters designed by Frank O. Gehry. The Yotel has a robotic luggage drop-office machine and small rooms designed by the Rockwll Group and Softroom.

In December, 2011, the developer decided to convert the condominium units to “premium” rentals at 1 MiMa Tower at 460 West 42^nd Street.

The building now has 651 rental units, which all share the same, huge amenity package.

Ismael Leyva designed the apartments and the Rockwell Group designed the interiors. 

The building was completed in 2011 and has LEED Gold certification.

Bottom Line

One of the city’s major mixed-use skyscrapers, MiMa is near the very top of the city’s list of buildings with the most impressive list of amenities.

Description

This very handsome, dark-glass slab tower with a couple of small setbacks is one of the more elegant developments along the Far West 42^nd Street corridor.

Amenities

The 500 regular rental apartments on floors 7 through 50 share the same amenities as the premier rental units at the top of the building. See the CityRealty.com review of 1 MiMA Tower, for a discussion of those amenities.

Apartments

The 500 regular rental apartments are on floors 7 through 50.

Studio units have 16-foot-long great rooms and enclosed kitchens off the entry foyers.

Alcove studios have 16-foot-long living/dining rooms with open kitchens and 9-foot-long alcoves.

Junior one-bedroom units have 17-foot-long living/dining rooms, 11-foot-long alcoves and an open kitchen off the entry foyers.

One-bedroom units have 17-foot-long living/dining rooms with open kitchens and 11-foot-long bedrooms.

Junior 4 units have 19-foot-long living rooms with 11-foot-long dining areas, open kitchens and 13-foot-long bedrooms.

Corner two-bedroom, two-bath units have 16-foot-long living/dining rooms with an open kitchens.

Corner two-bedrooms at the eastern side of the tower have South, West and North exposures and open, windowed kitchens.