Real estate investor Aby Rosen has gained a new partner in China Vanke, the largest publicly traded developer in China, for his proposed 61-story condominium-and-hotel tower at 610 Lexington Avenue.
Construction launched on the site, next to the Seagram Building, yesterday. This marks Vanke’s first project in the city and second in the U.S., after teaming with Tishman Speyer on a two-tower condo complex in San Francisco last year.
Rosen’s RFR Holding is plowing ahead with design plans from SLCE Architects, despite limits to the structure’s height and width in lieu of the failed Midtown East rezoning proposal.
The 610 Lexington Avenue development “will undoubtedly transform the New York City skyline and redefine modern urban living,” said Yu Liang of China Vanke in a statement provided to Bloomberg News.
The ultimate tower will now be a total of 303,000 square feet, permits have shown. The total height is to be 65 floors, or 712 feet, according to the documents — a slight jump over the initially planned 60 stories, as previously reported. [Bloomberg News] — Mark Maurer