A Peek into Colossal Manhattan West

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Now there’s more to see of Brookfield Property Partners L.P.’s Manhattan West—in rendering format, that is. The developer just released new images of the $4.5 billion, 7 million-square-foot mixed-use project, which is sprouting up at the entrance of the Hudson Yards district on Manhattan’s budding Far West Side.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill L.L.P. is the master plan architect for Manhattan West, which Gary Haney, design partner with the firm, described in a press release upon the start of construction as “a whole new piece of Manhattan.”

Among the sprawling five-acre development’s multiple structures will be two new office towers, One Manhattan West and Two Manhattan West, encompassing 2 million square feet each. Two of the four newly released renderings are of the 67-story One Manhattan West, where construction kicked off in April upon the signing of a deal with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom L.L.P. to serve as the anchor tenant. The law firm committed to 550,000 square feet spanning 15 floors of the building under a 20-year lease agreement.

Both LEED Gold-certified commercial towers are featured in two additional renderings, one of which shows a view of the 2.6-acre platform that has been erected over the active rail approach to Penn Station. Brookfield previously released images of other segments of Manhattan West, including the outdoor plaza, the 844-unit residential high-rise and the Five Manhattan West office tower, which is a redevelopment of the existing 1.8 million-square-foot building at 450 W. 33rd St.

Ultimately, in addition to the office and residential structures, the gargantuan mixed-use destination will also offer restaurants and retail space, a five-star hotel and a two-acre public park.

Come 2019, real estate watchers will be able to compare the rendering of One Manhattan West to the real thing.