UPDATED Friday, May 10, 7:01 p.m.: TSX Broadway may become the largest billboard the world may have ever seen.
The mixed-use project developed by L&L Holding Company, Fortress Investment Group and Maefield Development also contains a landmarked theater and, once completed in 2022, will have a permanent stage facing out to Times Square, along with a 669-key hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail.
The LED-lighting system will be built into the skin of the building.
“Companies like Netflix are literally buying billboard companies. A fully online business thinks that the best way to connect with their customers is on a sign, out in public where they can fully engage with them,” said Dave Orowitz, managing director at L&L Holding Company.
Developers claim the finished building will be worth $4.2 billion.
The project raised $2.5 billion in financing from investors including SoftBank Group’s Masa son, UBS Group AG (notably, the 46-story tower is the Zurich-based bank’s largest ever single asset investment), and a handful of the developers have skin in the game too. L&L co-founders David Levinson and Robert Lapidus, as well as Fortress executives Peter Briger and Dean Dakolias.
Construction began in January. Check out the video above to see the project’s progress and what its facade-turned-screen will be able to do.
Text by Erin Hudson
Editor’s Note: A quote in the third paragraph was previously misattributed to Lana Lenar.
