SL Green taps Hines to consult on Grand Central office development

SL Green Realty has brought in Hines Interest to help the firm in a rare ground-up Construction Attempt Across The Street from Grand Central Terminal, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move marks the first step forward for the firm’s planned 1.2 million-square-foot building along Madison Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets, since it acquired its last needed lot, at 51 East 42nd Street, in December.

Known primarily as an office landlord, SL Green has brought in reputed office tower developers Hines Interest, which is planing a nearby office tower overlooking Bryant Park, to lend expertise to the project.

The building would likely be included in the rezoning the Bloomberg administration is trying to pass for the area, and represents one of the few new construction projects surrounding Grand Central. The firm plans a “spectacular trophy asset” with a striking design.

“I imagined how the lines and the curves of these designs will make a huge impact on the city skyline. I thought about how great it would be [to] construct one of these tower[s] over Grand Central Terminal,” said Edward Piccinich, the firm’s executive vice president of property management and construction. [WSJ]