51 Astor Place

51 Astor Place is an office building in the Astor Place neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was developed by Edward J. Minskoff Equities. It is the headquarters of IBM's IBM Watson Group division. Like neighboring building Astor Place Tower, the black glass building designed by Fumihiko Maki was controversial for its architectural style[1] and nicknamed "The Death Star" by locals.[2]

51 Astor Place
51 Astor Place. 770 Broadway is visible reflected in its windows.
General information
TypeMixed-use
Coordinates40°43′49″N 73°59′25″W
Height
Roof183 feet (56 m)
Technical details
Floor count13
Design and construction
ArchitectFumihiko Maki

History

51 Astor is a product of permission given to Cooper Union to allow development on its grounds despite being a non-profit. The building was built on spec, without an anchor tenant for the building.[3] The developer, Edward J. Minskoff, hoped to gain tenants from the financial and technology sectors.[4]

The building was completed in 2013, and cost $300 million to construct.

Usage

51 Astor is a mixed-use building, with three retail spaces on the ground floor.[5] The anchor tenant is IBM. Others include St. John's University, Mail Online, 1stdibs, and a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group, Claren Road Asset Management.[6]

Design

The building was designed by Fumihiko Maki, who also designed 4 World Trade Center. The developer referred to the structure as "black glass with black granite and silver fins".[7] Matt Chaban, writing for Observer, referred to the building as the "one of the more interesting buildings built in the neighborhood since...41 Cooper Square...". 41 Cooper Square is a Cooper Union academic building.[8]

The lobby includes a red Jeff Koons sculpture of a rabbit.[5]

Controversy

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation opposed the building's development, largely due to the fact that the building's style is markedly different from that of the surrounding neighborhood.[1] Both the style and the high prices the building asks for rent have been seen as eroding the neighborhood's character.[1]

The controversy over 51 Astor's design is similar to the one that faced the neighboring Astor Place Tower.[9]

gollark: ```cint main() { int x = 0; x -= 1; return 0;}```
gollark: Anyway, if I invoke undefined behavior the compiler is technically allowed to implement length-terminated strings correctly, so I'll just do that.
gollark: And none of the benefits.
gollark: Technically, yes.
gollark: Just find the first position where the combination of "bytes read into string" and "value of length suffix" is consistent.

References
  1. Weinstein, Steve (March 5, 2014). "Will Success Spoil Astor Place?". The Village Voice. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  2. Moss, Jeremiah (March 7, 2018). "The Death and Life of a Great American Building". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  3. Cuozzo, Steve (April 28, 2015). "IBM deals a full house at Minskoff's Astor Place". New York Post. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  4. Polsky, Sara (June 8, 2011). "Work on Glassy Astor Place Starbucks-Crusher Starting Soon". Curbed. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  5. Hughes, C.J. (March 26, 2013). "A Sleek Office Building Rises Over Gritty Astor Place". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  6. "51 Astor Place adds media, finance tenants". REW. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  7. Polsky, Sara (February 12, 2012). "Renderings Revealed, Tenants Rumored for 51 Astor Place". Curbed. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  8. Chaban, Matt (February 15, 2012). "Now We Get It: Minsikoff's 51 Astor May Be New York's Strangest New Building". New York Observer. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  9. Goldberger, Paul (May 2, 2005). "Green Monster". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
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