SL Green forms coalition for Grand Central improvements

Alliance created as community board hearing on project set to take place on Monday night

Renderings of One Vanderbilt in Midtown (Credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox)
Renderings of One Vanderbilt in Midtown (Credit: Kohn Pedersen Fox)

SL Green Realty Corp. is forming a coalition to push for the rezoning of Midtown East’s Vanderbilt Corridor.

The developer is looking to construct a 1.6 million-square-foot office tower at One Vanderbilt.

In anticipation of Monday night’s community board hearing on , the company is joining forces with, among others, the Association for a Better New York, the Grand Central Partnership, the New York Building Congress and the Real Estate Board of New York  to form the Coalition for a Better Grand Central, according to Capital New York. The coalition will support SL Green’s proposed improvements to Grand Central Terminal, the website reported.

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The improvement package is the result of an agreement between the developer and the de Blasio administration allowing SL Green to build a new skyscraper next to the terminal without buying the air rights. In return, SL Green would pump $210 million into upgrades in and around Grand Central Terminal, according to the website.

Andrew Penson, the owner of Grand Central, still opposes the plan. He argues that the air rights are worth more than $210 million and the capital improvement plan doesn’t go far enough. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses