Extell’s plans for Nordstrom Tower remain a mystery

Spokesperson says all previous renderings were provisional

Three apocryphal renderings of 217 West 57th Street in Midtown. From left: Foster + Partners, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Smith + Gill
Three apocryphal renderings of 217 West 57th Street in Midtown. From left: Foster + Partners, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Smith + Gill

You might think Extell would be proud to show off final designs for its super-deluxe Nordstrom Tower project. But you’d be wrong.

A spokesperson for the developer said no final image of the planned tower is available, and all previous renderings of the building can be safely ignored. The building, once slated for 2018, “should be” complete by 2019.

The New York Post reported on the indecision at the game-changing building, which has featured three similar renderings to date, by Foster + Partners, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and finally by the building’s actual designers Smith + Gill.

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Extell is planning to build the super-luxurious, 1,500-plus-foot-tall, 233-unit Nordstrom Tower condo and retail project at the site, located at 217 West 57th Street, part of the so-called Billionaires’ Row in Midtown. The company wrote in a regulatory filing that a total sellout at the tower would bring in as much as $4.4 billion, a world record.

The developer assembled the site in 2005, paying $300 to $400 per square foot, a source told The Real Deal in May. Land prices have more than doubled since then, leaving Extell with a significantly more favorable cost basis as compared to other luxury towers in the area, like Vorando’s 220 Central Park South and Extell’s own One57. [NYP]Ariel Stulberg