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Does Your NYC Skyscraper Have That “Je Ne Sais Quoi?”

In a city like no other where bravado and ego are measured not by the size of your wallet or the quality of your ride, NYC developers duel over the size and amenity richness of their high-rise towers.

Take SL Green’s One Vanderbilt, NYC tallest midtown skyscraper, which stands 1,300 feet above the ground, has 73 floors plus an area on top with bars and something called SUMMIT, three levels of immersive space with mirrors, waves of color, shape-shifting visuals and mind-bending digital images.

Refusing to be outdone, Stephen Ross’s Related Companies, allows, the more adventurous among us, to scale the side of 30 Hudson Yards, the highest external building climb in the world. Daring climbers, fitted with harnesses, can traverse a series of open-air platforms and stairs slanted at a 45-degree incline over a course that takes about 45 minutes and culminates with a celebratory glass of champagne.

Never one to sit on the sidelines, Extell Development’s Gary Barnett, sees monsieur Holliday and Ross and raises the stakes. Earlier this week, he revealed plans for a power drill-shaped (and somewhat phallic) 56-story tower with a mix of hotel rooms, fine dining, shopping and thrill rides at 740 Eighth Avenue. One attraction envisioned is a 260-foot indoor freefall inside the high-rise, which is double the distance of Disney World’s already petrifying freefall drop.

Great views high in the sky of the world’s greatest city seem to no longer be enough, the market is now calling for death-defying experiences.

Rebong, Kevin. “Extell’s Theater District Highrise Lines up for Major Tourism.” The Real Deal, 22 Feb. 2023, therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/02/21/plans-revealed-for-extells-740-eighth-avenue-tower/. 
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