The Spiral Tops Out in Manhattan
Tishman Speyer's multibillion-dollar project, which is more than 50 percent preleased to the likes of Pfizer and other notables, is moving closer to completion.
Tishman Speyer celebrated the official topping off of The Spiral this week, marking a major step toward the realization of the 1,031-foot-tall office skyscraper on Manhattan’s West Side. The 2.8 million-square-foot property is scheduled to debut in 2022.
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The idea for a premier tower at 66 Hudson Blvd. has been brewing for Tishman Speyer since 2014, when the developer acquired the five parcels that comprise the block-long site in two transactions for an aggregate $438 million. BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group is behind The Spiral’s striking design, which will turn heads with its cascading series of landscaped terraces and hanging gardens adorning the sleek high-rise from every angle. With Turner Construction aboard as general contractor, Tishman Speyer is building the premier transit-oriented development to qualify for LEED Gold certification and to feature connected workspaces and flexible floorplans designed to promote collaboration and creativity. The Spiral will also offer an approximately 25,000-square-foot retail podium, an amenity terrace and a host of additional extras that may very well appeal to office users making a flight to quality as they embrace today’s “new normal.”
“Occupiers are increasingly demanding flexible space options, shared meeting space, indoor air quality, connected building apps and touchless technology when considering new leases. Buildings that provide these desired amenities may find more favor by enterprise tenants as leasing volume resumes,” according to CBRE’s 2021 U.S. real estate outlook report. “Occupiers may reduce their amount of leased space in the future, but the quality of that space will become more important.”
Tishman Speyer marked the milestone of completing the highest structural component of The Spiral, having already preleased 51 percent of the 65-story tower’s office space. Pfizer will relocate its global headquarters to a 746,000-square-foot space in the building, law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP will relocate its headquarters to a 530,000-square-foot space and global asset management firm AllianceBernstein will set up shop in approximately 166,000 square feet.
Still building
The work-from-home trend and economic uncertainty notwithstanding, office construction continues to move forward in Manhattan. After all, as Newmark noted in a September 2020 report: “Going forward, Class A buildings, including 16 million square feet under construction across Manhattan, will be able to more easily reconfigure spaces to accommodate changing office layouts and desirable building updates, such as contactless entry and improved air quality.”
Notable office projects currently underway range from The Moinian Group’s $200 million Hudson Arts Building, a 200,000-square-foot development in the West Chelsea area, to SL Green Realty Corp.’s joint venture redevelopment of One Madison, for which the partners landed a $1.3 billion construction loan in November 2020. As of August 2020, Manhattan led the U.S. as the top market for office construction activity, with second-place Chicago trailing by several million square feet.
