The massive metal wall on Tenth Avenue is getting a makeover.
Neiman Marcus is long gone from the Hudson Yards mall, after declaring bankruptcy in 2020. Its space on Tenth Avenue, spanning between 31st and 33rd Streets, is covered in netting scaffolding, with workers busily transforming the space into offices for Wells Fargo. As of Thursday, a section of the top three floors were open to the air.
I think about this structure a lot because TRD’s office sits across the street, and this behemoth takes up most of our view. It looms large at the end of 31st Street, like a boxy, metallic Oz* beckoning disoriented Dorothys as they emerge from the bowels of Penn Station. This yellow brick road is similarly perilous for pedestrians, who cross parking garage entrances, post office loading space and an entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel (oh my).
The original façade did not have many frills, to the chagrin of project architects.
As New York Magazine put it in 2019:
“West 31st and 32nd Streets dead-end at the shopping mall’s forbidding wall along Tenth Avenue. When an architect agitated for a more lavish cladding, a Related executive waved him away. “Who’s going to see it?” he asked. For the developers, the towers gather round a central stage. The rest of the city is its back-of-house.”
But approaching an office space from the street is a different consideration than a mall that doubles as a tourist destination. Those visiting Hudson Yards are going to primarily experience the mall from the inside and from the other side of this building, if they want to take in the rest of the megadevelopment. Some who work at the building, however, will likely experience it from the 10th Avenue side, as they approach from Penn or Moynihan Train Hall. The old façade did not exactly scream “major financial services company.”
I asked the architecture firm leading the redesign, KPF, about the firm’s approach, and Trent Tesch, who is design principal for the project, told me: “Working on any conversion project requires a rethinking of the previous design to accommodate the needs of the new users. Going from retail to office space at 20 Hudson Yards meant moving to a glass façade that brings in ample daylight into the workplace and allows for views to the neighborhood.”
In November, Wells Fargo estimated that the office would be ready for some 2,300 employees by late 2026. They are moving from the bank’s current location at 150 East 42nd Street.
In related news, Related Companies’ Steve Ross is stepping away from the company to run the company’s Southeast division as a separate firm, dubbed Related Ross.
*Hat tip to New York Magazine for, as far as I know, being the first to compare Hudson Yards to Oz. I think I can safely claim credit for comparing 31st Street to anything remotely close to the yellow brick road, though.
What we’re thinking about: Do you think there was any conversation about at least trying to hide the identity of this buyer at 111 West 57th? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: I’m not sure how I was not alerted of this sooner, but there is a musical based on the Empire State Building. The show, “Empire,” opened Thursday at the New World Stages on 50th Street. All I will say is, if there are tap dancing construction workers in this show, I will lose it.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Most of the 5G towers in the city do not actually provide cellular service yet, Gothamist reports. Only two of the nearly 200 Link5G towers installed in the city have 5G equipment. Still, the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation believes CityBridge, the company that installed the towers, will be able to find carriers to rent out the towers.
— The head of the New York Philharmonic resigned on Thursday after only one year as president and chief executive, the New York Times reports. Gary Ginstling quit as the orchestra’s musician and administration are negotiating a new contract.
— Mount Sinai has indefinitely postponed its planned closure of Beth Israel, Crain’s reports. Hospital leadership said it would close the hospital on July 10, but the state has yet to approve the closure plan. A Manhattan judge barred the hospital from stopping services, as a lawsuit filed by East Village residents makes its way through the courts.
Closing Time :
Residential: The priciest residential sale Thursday was $135 million for a condominium at 730 Fifth Avenue in the Plaza District.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $62.6 million for a 71,750-square-foot, 82-unit apartment building at 1394 York Avenue on the Upper East Side.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $65 million for a 7,045-square-foot condominium at 217 West 57th Street in Midtown. Janice Chang and Timothy Hsu of Douglas Elliman have the listing. — Matthew Elo