Demolition Begins At Site Of Tallest Tower On UWS, Report Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Demolition work has begun on the last final lot of and Upper West Side development site expected to yield the neighborhood's tallest tower, according to reports.

The 11-story building at 15 W. 65th St. — located between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West — has been covered in netting and scaffolding prior to its impending demolition, New York YIMBY first reported. The building stands on a lot that's included in Extell Development's plan to construct a 775-foot-tall tower at 50 W. 66th St.

Demolition plans for the existing structure were filed in July 2017 and approved in late February 2018, according to records from the city Department of Buildings. The other lots involved in the 50 W. 66th St. development have already been cleared, New York YIMBY reported.

Extell Development unveiled plans for 50 W. 66th Street in December, supplanting 200 Amsterdam Ave's claim to the tallest future development on the Upper West Side. The building will rise 775 feet and contain more than 100 condos.

The Snøhetta-designed building contains three district sections: a mixed-use base, a body tower and a "crown" at the top of the building. Each is designed to reflect the character and style of the surrounding area, the design firm said in a press release.

"Situated at the heart of the neighborhood's cultural core, steps from Lincoln Center to the west and Central Park to the east, the building will join the neighborhood, sensitively responding to its context and referencing the area's architectural character with a natural palette of refined materials," a Snøhetta press release reads.

Days after the plans were revealed, City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal said she would "fight this current proposal with every tool at my disposal."

Rosenthal and other local elected officials sounded the alarm on Extell Development's plans for a development site on West 66th Street between Central Park West and Columbus avenue earlier this summer. In June, Rosenthal, State Senator Brad Hoylman and State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried wrote a letter to Extell's Gary Barnett demanding that the high-powered developer reveal his ultimate plans for the site.

In 2015, Extell filed plans for a 25-story building on the site, which would be three-times smaller than the planned 50 W. 66th St. Extell continued to acquire air rights after proposing the 25-story building, which sparked fear that a much larger development could be the ultimate plan.

Read the full New York YIMBY article here.

Rendering by Binyan Studios Courtesy Snøhetta