55 Hudson Yards

World Product Center (canceled)

The World Product Center (also World Product Centre) was a building designed by Gary Barnett that was scheduled to be built at the same site on the east side of 11th Avenue, between West 33rd and 34th Streets. Having more than 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m²) of space, the building would have been used as a hospital, medical center, and a lab. The 1,011 feet (308 m) tall building was expected to start construction in 2009 and be complete by 2011, a completion date later pushed to winter 2013. The building would also have allowed visitors to visit and study the Lab and Medication studies that go on in the building which will allow more than 2 million visitors annually. The World Product Centre would be one of the world’s first permanent healthcare marketplace and education center. A 60-story, 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m²) tower at 555 West 33rd Street, World Product Centre (WPC) would have served the unique commercial and educational needs of healthcare suppliers and providers. Medical companies would have work together to improve the global healthcare industry, including medical devices, diagnostics, technology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare services. The WPC would have also showcased medical technologies from the healthcare industry, including medical devices, diagnostics, technology, life sciences, and services. The Complex's homepage was still operating, displaying a projected completion date of 2013, as of June 2014.

The World Product Center was to be developed by the Extell Development Company. World Product Center would be equipped with business technology, communication and education resources to support healthcare commerce. The World Product Center facilities would have included permanent show rooms, conference and educational facilities, media centers and traditional office space. The building would have also featured a Consumer Health Pavilion open to the general public, including students, tourists and other healthcare consumers. The Pavilion was to offer guided tours, interactive forums, and a wealth of information supporting health literacy, prevention and wellness, and those considering careers in healthcare. Hewlett-Packard had designed a vendor-neutral technology infrastructure. Plans called for over 120,000 square feet (11,000 m²) of education and conference space that includes a two-story, 499-seat, fully digitized auditorium. Medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare associations, and WPC itself will offer events of all kinds, including accredited professional and medical education courses. Companies that were to participate in WPC would have received permanent showrooms and exclusive access to all of the resources and amenities.

After the World Product Center backed out of a tenancy deal in 2009—moving its medical showcase from the 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²) of office space in the proposed building to another 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m²) building with cheaper rent—the building at 555 West 33rd Street was canceled. The new, smaller building would only be able to showcase 300 to 500 companies, rather than the original 1800-company capacity planned in the World Product Center building.

55 Hudson Yards plan

When the World Product Center was canceled, the site of 555 West 33rd Street became available for development again. The 710-foot-tall (220 m), 51-story 55 Hudson Yards building is planned to take its place, although the building will be an office building rather than a medical building.

The building, which will be at 11th Avenue's east side between 33rd and 34th Streets, will be located to the north of 35 Hudson Yards, and on the west side of the Hudson Park and Boulevard, adjacent to 50 Hudson Yards and the entrance to the new 34th Street New York City Subway station. Located on the site of the canceled World Product Center, the 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m²) building, designed by Eugene Kohn and Kevin Roche, is expected to cost US$1 billion. In 2013, Extell was paid by The Related Companies in exchange for the 55/One Hudson Yards building, in a deal that allowed Related to develop the site. Construction was originally not set to start until at least half of the building is pre-leased, but has since been fast-tracked to 2015. Because of the 7 Subway Extension construction underneath the building, the foundation had already been built; the 55 Hudson Yards building would be over a ventilation building and a station entrance for the extension.

As of November 2014, the Japanese real estate investment firm Mitsui Fudosan is looking to buy part of the tower. The move came after J.P. Morgan Chase put forth a proposal to invest in the tower, but later withdrew due to the New York City government's refusal to give J.P. Morgan Chase about US$1.6 billion in subsidies and tax breaks. On December 30, 2014, Mitsui Fudosan bought a 92.09% majority share in the project for $259 million.

The law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, the building's first tenant, signed a lease in June 2015.

Design changes

55 Hudson Yards was originally conceived as a 1,750,000-square-foot (163,000 m²), 877-foot-tall (267 m) building with 56 stories at 550-570 West 34th Street. It was expected to keep the latticed glass facade and a curved roof, as well as many of the old design plans, of the World Product Center, because Extell was designing One Hudson Yards. However, in late 2013, a design change was made that downsized the building to a 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m²) building. Also, the building would have had a modified beige facade, as well as a 710-foot (220 m) flat roof. The building will be constructed on an area bounded by 11th Avenue, Hudson Park and Boulevard, and 33rd and 34th Streets. On the lowest ten floors, the floors will be 44,000 square feet (4,100 m²), while the floors in the stories above will measure 28,000 square feet (2,600 m²).

Early projections placed the building as having either 47 or 50 floors, but final plans state that there will be 51 stories. (the top floor would be a mechanical floor, with office space occupying the forty floors below it).

In May 2014, renderings for the building changed for the second time. The building's third plan projects it as having a facade with a mostly metallic overlay, and a base larger than the rest of the building. However, the square footage and height remains the same as in the second plan. The building's current planned facade was based off the cast iron facades of buildings in SoHo. Tenants have not been announced, however. The building is mixed-use, with office space as well as a 150-room hotel. However, since the building will have large floor plates, its floors will be meant for tenants who are sufficiently large enough to occupy the space.

Architecture

The building will have energy-efficient features, and is expected to get a LEED Gold award when completed. Features of the new building will include destination dispatch elevators; columnless exterior corners featuring floor-to-ceiling windows; wide-open 12 feet (3.7 m) ceilings, and the building's core and its floor design.

The tower includes terraces on the tenth floor and within the tower's interior floors and its base; the tenth-floor terrace will overlook the Hudson Park and Boulevard. There will be an outdoor wooden balcony, as well as 5,000 square feet (465 m²) for landscaping.

Construction

Construction started on January 22, 2015. It is expected to be completed by 2019.