One Worldwide Plaza
Template:Good article Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox building One Worldwide Plaza is an office skyscraper in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), One Worldwide Plaza is Template:Convert tall, with an alternative address of 825 Eighth Avenue. It is the easternmost of three buildings in Worldwide Plaza, a commercial and residential complex that occupies the entire city block bounded by Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 49th Street, and 50th Street and is built on the site of New York City's third Madison Square Garden. Adjacent to One Worldwide Plaza to the west are a public plaza and two residential buildings.
The classically inspired building contains a three-story granite base, a brick midsection with setbacks, and a pyramidal copper roof with a glass lantern. Inside, there are storefronts and entrances to the New York City Subway's 50th Street station, while three double-height lobbies lead to different sets of office floors.
Worldwide Plaza was developed in the late 1980s by a syndicate led by William Zeckendorf Jr. Upon opening, One Worldwide Plaza was nearly fully occupied, with two anchor tenants: advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather and law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. During the mid-1990s, the office space was leased at a very low price. The Blackstone Group acquired the complex in 1996 and sold it to Equity Office Properties in 1998. When Blackstone took over Equity Office in 2007, it sold the office building to Harry Macklowe, who lost the building to foreclosure. George Comfort and Sons took over One Worldwide Plaza in 2009. American Realty Capital New York bought a controlling ownership stake in 2017, selling off a non-controlling stake to RXR Realty and SL Green Realty.
Site
One Worldwide Plaza is part of Worldwide Plaza, which occupies the entire city block bounded by Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 49th Street, and 50th Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.<ref name="nyt-1996-05-05" /> Worldwide Plaza was developed in the late 1980s by a syndicate led by William Zeckendorf Jr.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461">Template:Harvnb</ref> One Worldwide Plaza, the easternmost structure in the complex, was designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /><ref name="p219129382">Template:Cite magazine</ref> To the west are two residential buildings, Two and Three Worldwide Plaza, both designed by Frank Williams;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Reynolds p. 184">Template:Harvnb</ref> they are respectively composed of a 39-story tower and a series of five- and six-story-tall townhouses.<ref name="nyt-1988-05-22" /><ref name="Reynolds p. 184" /> In addition, the complex contains Template:Convert of retail space,<ref name="p285395608" /> as well as theaters and a garage.<ref name="nyt-1988-05-22" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> According to Zeckendorf, Worldwide Plaza was intended to be "a self-contained community and also a destination point for other people in the city".<ref name="nyt-1989-01-29">Template:Cite news</ref>
The Worldwide Plaza complex is built on the site of New York City's third Madison Square Garden (MSG).<ref name="wsj-2013-10-28" /> Following the opening of the current Madison Square Garden arena at 34th Street, the former arena was closed in 1968 and demolished.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the 1980s, the surrounding area consisted mostly of lower-income tenements and small retail buildings, and The New York Times described the area as "a neighborhood best known for pornography and cheap bars".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Architecture
One Worldwide Plaza is a 50-storyTemplate:Efn office skyscraper measuring Template:Convert high, with a pyramidal roof at its top.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Stichweh 2016">Template:Cite book</ref> Several architectural details of One Worldwide Plaza were inspired by early-1930s classical designs,<ref name="p219129382" /> specifically the Art Deco style.<ref name="Stichweh 2016" /><ref name="Nash 2005">Template:Cite book</ref> The building is divided horizontally into three sections: a base, shaft, and capital.<ref name="Kalayjian pp. 70-71">Template:Harvnb</ref> The materials used in its construction were sourced from a variety of locations. The brick was manufactured by Glen-Gery<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Sabbagh pp. 176-177">Template:Harvnb</ref> at a factory in Pennsylvania,<ref name="Kalayjian p. 77">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> while the windows were made in Wisconsin.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 77" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> By contrast, the roofing and precast concrete were made in Canada,<ref name="Kalayjian p. 77" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> the structural steel was bought in Luxembourg,<ref name="Kalayjian p. 77" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> and the project used Brazilian granite and Italian marble.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 77" /><ref name="Sabbagh p. 156" /> HRH Construction was the building's general construction contractor.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Including the residential buildings, the complex was to cover Template:Convert, more than the maximum size allowed without zoning bonuses.<ref name="p285395608" /><ref name="complex planned" /> Under normal zoning regulations, the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) for any building on Worldwide Plaza's site was 10, but the developers received two bonuses of 2 FAR each, bringing the FAR to 14.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 66">Template:Harvnb</ref> The developers added a midblock plaza for the first bonus and renovated the adjacent 50th Street station for the second bonus.<ref name="p285395608" /><ref name="Kalayjian p. 66" />
Facade
The base of the building is three stories tall<ref name="Kalayjian pp. 70-71" /> and is designed to relate to the neighboring residential buildings.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> It is clad with gray-purple granite and contains outwardly curved entrances on all four sides.<ref name="Goldberger" /><ref name="MP p. 94">Template:Harvnb</ref> These curved sections contain Renaissance-inspired colonnades with granite pilasters, behind which is an oval passageway with a vaulted ceiling.<ref name="Nash 2005" /><ref name="Goldberger" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 461-463">Template:Harvnb</ref> The building's two original anchor tenants, advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather and law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, had their own entrances.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-19" /> This was because Ogilvy & Mather had requested a private entrance during the building's construction. Ogilvy & Mather's entrance faced 49th Street; Cravath, Swaine & Moore's entrance faced Eighth Avenue; and other tenants had an entrance facing west.<ref name="nyt-1990-08-05">Template:Cite news</ref> The entrance on the northern elevation, facing 50th Street, is used for retail rather than as an office lobby.<ref name="MP p. 94" />
The rest of the facade is made largely of brick and is designed in a manner reminiscent of the Gothic Revival style.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /> Glen-Gery was hired to manufacture the brick because it was one of the few contractors capable of manufacturing the tinted brick that the developers wanted.<ref name="Sabbagh pp. 176-177" /> The main section of the building is clad with maize-colored brick, but the windows at the center of each elevation are emphasized by vertical strips of rust-colored brick.<ref name="Goldberger" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 461-463" /> The facade originally contained single-paned windows, which gave the effect of a flat facade. The building contains several setbacks, which are decorated with white brick that is designed to evoke the appearance of stone.<ref name="Nash 2005" /><ref name="Goldberger" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 461-463" /> The building's shallow setbacks give it a much larger floor area than older Art Deco skyscrapers in New York City, which had deeper setbacks and consequently less interior space.<ref name="Stichweh 2016" /><ref name="Nash 2005" />
The tower is topped by a pyramidal copper roof with round dormer windows.<ref name="Goldberger" /> The pyramid has eight sides and measures Template:Convert tall.<ref name="MP p. 94" /> The design of the roof was inspired by the pyramidal roofs of several other New York City office buildings in the early 20th century, such as the New York Life Building and the Helmsley Building.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /> The building is crowned by a pyramidal glass lantern.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /><ref name="Goldberger" /><ref name="Bluestone p. 44">Template:Harvnb</ref>
Interior
David Childs designed three lobbies at One Worldwide Plaza, each with a separate entrance.<ref name="nyt-1990-08-05" /> Each lobby was originally decorated with Fiore di Pesco marble.<ref name="Sabbagh p. 156">Template:Harvnb</ref> There are storefronts along the ground-level colonnade adjacent to the three lobbies,<ref name="MP p. 94" /><ref name="Bluestone p. 44" /> as well as on both levels of each lobby.<ref name="Sabbagh p. 156" /> In addition, there are restrooms along the western side of the arcade.<ref name="Kayden 2018" /> The two-story-high lobby on Eighth Avenue was used by Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which installed security checkpoints on both levels of the lobby, reducing the amount of retail space there.<ref name="nyt-1990-08-05" /> On each side, visitors had to take an escalator from ground level to the upper lobby, where they could access the elevators.<ref name="nyt-1990-08-05" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Each lobby had access to a bank of elevators.<ref name="Sabbagh p. 156" /> There are four elevator banks in total,<ref name="MP p. 94" /> comprising 22 passenger elevators and two truck elevators.<ref name="RXR">Template:Cite web</ref> The building's base also contained a day-care center sponsored by Cravath, Swaine & Moore for its employees' children.<ref name="nyt-1989-06-23">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Northwest of the lobbies is a truck elevator on 50th Street.<ref name="MP p. 94" />
The building contains a steel superstructure weighing Template:Convert. Each floor slab is made of concrete, which is poured onto a metal deck.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 71">Template:Harvnb</ref> The floor slabs measure Template:Convert.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 463">Template:Harvnb</ref> The maximum structural load on each column was Template:Convert on average.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 71" /> These loads were carried down into the concrete spread footings at the building's foundation.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 71" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The superstructure was stiffened by moment frames at the building's perimeter, which were braced to the elevator core. Concrete masonry units were then installed around the outermost beams of the superstructure, providing waterproofing.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 71" />
One Worldwide Plaza contains Template:Convert of office space.<ref name="p285395608" /> The upper stories each have Template:Convert of rentable space. Each story has an open plan, and the slab-to-slab height of each story is Template:Convert.<ref name="RXR" /> The restrooms, staircases, and elevators are clustered near the building's core. The banks of elevators taper off at higher levels. For example, the 21st and 28th stories have space for three banks of elevators, although only two elevator banks serve these levels.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Cravath, Swaine & Moore originally occupied the 38th to 49th stories. The New York Times described the offices as using Template:Convert of marble and Template:Convert of mahogany.<ref name="nyt-1989-06-23" />
Other features
Public plaza
A mid-block public plaza separates One Worldwide Plaza from Two and Three Worldwide Plaza.<ref name="MP p. 94" /><ref name="nyt-2002-06-30" /> The New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) had approved the construction and maintenance of the public plaza in exchange for additional floors in the office tower.<ref name="nyt-2002-06-30">Template:Cite news</ref> The plaza originally covered Template:Convert, but its owner reduced the plaza's size by 10 percent in 2002 as part of a lawsuit settlement.<ref name="nyt-2002-06-30" /> During the summer, the plaza hosts the Worldwide Plaza Summer Concert Series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jerold S. Kayden wrote of the buildings' plaza: "Its half-acre size, numerous movable chairs, comfortable ledge seating, food service at north and south ends, decorative water fountain, and landscaping of trees and shrubs render it highly functional for the diverse audience."<ref name="Kayden 2018" />
The landscaping of the plaza includes over 40 trees, numerous plantings, and seating.<ref name="Kayden 2018" /> The plaza also contains a fountain called The Seasons,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which was designed by sculptor Sidney Simon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Four bronze statues of standing nude women, each representing a season, hold up a globe. Below the globe are four fountains, each carved in the shape of a man's head.<ref name="Kayden 2018">Template:Cite web</ref>
Amenities
The complex also has a health club measuring Template:Convert.<ref name="nyt-1988-05-22">Template:Cite news</ref> The health club was originally operated by Bally Health and Tennis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Beneath the plaza is a 450-spot parking garage with 450<ref name="nyt-1988-05-22" /><ref name="p285395608" /> or 473 parking spaces.<ref name="RXR" />
Beneath the public plaza, there was originally a multiplex cinema with six screens,<ref name="p285395608" /><ref name="nyt-1989-07-05">Template:Cite news</ref> operated by the Cineplex Odeon Corporation.<ref name="nyt-1986-10-09a">Template:Cite news</ref> The multiplex's lobby was just below ground level, while the auditoriums themselves were in the second basement level.<ref name="nyt-1989-07-05" /> The cinema operated until 2001 and was converted into New World Stages, a complex of five Off-Broadway theaters, in 2004.<ref name="nyt-2004-10-22">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Webber p. 36">Template:Harvnb</ref> The multiplex was completely reconstructed as part of that project.<ref name="Webber p. 372">Template:Harvnb</ref> The modern theatrical complex contains a double-level lobby, accessed by escalators from 50th Street.<ref name="Webber p. 372" />
Subway entrance
One Worldwide Plaza's basement contains two entrances<ref name="MP p. 94" /><ref name="Kayden 2018" /> to the southbound platform of the 50th Street station of the New York City Subway, served by the Template:NYCS trains.<ref name="p285356126">Template:Cite news</ref> There is an elevator entrance on 49th Street and an escalator entrance on 50th Street.<ref name="Kayden 2018" /> The entrances were built in exchange for Template:Convert of additional space. They contain a mezzanine, escalators, elevators, and stairs.<ref name="p285356126" /> The Zeckendorfs also commissioned artist Matt Mullican to create an etched-granite mural for the station, which cost $150,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn-lr The mural, measuring Template:Convert tall, contains black relief panels depicting the site's history.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A closed stairway on 49th Street was also refurbished as part of the project.<ref name="p285356126" />
History
Early proposals
After the third Madison Square Garden was demolished in 1968, the site was operated as a parking lot for nearly two decades.<ref name="nyt-1985-01-292">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n104909466">Template:Cite news</ref> Several proposals for redeveloping the site had all failed due to a lack of funding.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1966, a "Cinema City" with two office towers, two Broadway theaters, four movie theaters, and several film and recording studios was proposed for the site.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Three years later, New York City Center proposed developing a four-theater complex, a film production center, and a new home for the American Film Institute on the site.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1973, Cushman & Wakefield and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill were hired to study the feasibility of constructing a large commercial showroom complex on the site similar to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago or AmericasMart in Atlanta. The complex would be topped by a tower.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 1976, developers Frank Stanton and Victor Elmaleh of the World‐Wide Group proposed Hippodrome Park, an indoor amusement park that would cost $30 million.<ref name="amusement park">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn-lr The name was a homage to the former New York Hippodrome.<ref name="nyt-1977-01-25">Template:Cite news</ref> The amusement park would have been designed by Randall Duell and would have included a variety of rides, restaurants, and films.<ref name="amusement park" /> The structure would have been enclosed in glass, which would have allowed the park to operate year-round; it would also have contained a 500-seat parking lot in the basement.<ref name="nyt-1977-01-25" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The City of New York was supportive of the project as part of its initiative to clean up nearby Times Square.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ultimately, the developers chose not to spend $12 million on an option for the site.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 65">Template:Harvnb</ref>Template:Efn-lr
Conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries acquired control of the site in 1977 as part of its acquisition of the Madison Square Garden Corporation.<ref name="nyt-1980-10-30">Template:Cite news</ref> The company devised plans in 1980 for a mixed-use project on the site, including an office building on Eighth Avenue and apartments on Ninth Avenue, both designed by SOM.<ref name="nyt-1980-10-30" /> Its proposal called for a three-story retail podium supporting a 52-story office building and two 60-story apartment towers; the development would have contained a combined Template:Convert.<ref name="complex planned">Template:Cite news</ref> Gulf and Western operated the site as a parking lot in the meantime.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 65" /><ref name="p134956371" /> The company had decided to sell the site by 1984, as its long term strategy did not include the redevelopment of the old Madison Square Garden.<ref name="p134956371">Template:Cite news</ref>
Development
Gulf and Western sold the site to a group led by William Zeckendorf Jr. in December 1984 for $100 million.<ref name="p134956371" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn-lr His partners in the project included Arthur G. Cohen, an independent real-estate investor; Victor Elmaleh and Frank Stanton, the principals of the World Wide Realty Corporation;<ref name="p285395608">Template:Cite news</ref> and KG Land New York Corporation, a subsidiary of Japanese company Kumagai Gumi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The group had to raise a $12.5 million letter of credit and finalize their sale within 18 months.<ref name="p285395608" />Template:Efn-lr Zeckendorf and his partners announced in January 1985 that they had selected SOM to design the new complex.<ref name="nyt-1985-01-292" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /> Zeckendorf hoped that the development would improve the character of Hell's Kitchen and Eighth Avenue, similar to how the construction of Axa Equitable Center four blocks northeast was intended to improve Seventh Avenue.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was one of several development projects planned within Hell's Kitchen,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which at the time was characterized by physical decay and high crime.<ref name="Reynolds p. 185">Template:Harvnb</ref> Zeckendorf said of Hell's Kitchen: "Ten years from now people will look back and marvel at how bad this neighborhood was."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Planning
SOM began designing the project in early 1985. The advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, which was negotiating to lease a large amount of space in the building, was involved in the design.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Zeckendorf's syndicate announced in November 1985 that it would erect a mixed-use complex on the MSG site, costing $500 million.<ref name="complex planned" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1438446363">Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Efn-lr The complex would include a 45-story office building on Eighth Avenue, as well as a 38-story condominium tower and several 6- and 7-story residential buildings to the west.<ref name="complex planned" /><ref name="p1438446363" /> There would also be six underground movie theaters, a health club, and a 450-space parking garage.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /> Ogilvy would occupy Template:Convert in the office building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ogilvy provided additional funds for the complex's construction<ref name="complex planned" /><ref name="n104903615">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Kalayjian p. 68">Template:Harvnb</ref> in exchange for a 17 percent equity stake<ref name="nyt-1989-01-19">Template:Cite news</ref> and some of One Worldwide Plaza's income.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 68" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the complex would receive an eight-year, $60 million tax abatement.<ref name="complex planned" /> The developers obtained two zoning bonuses for the site by adding a midblock plaza and renovating the 50th Street station.<ref name="p285395608" />
Members of the local Manhattan Community Board 4 opposed Zeckendorf's project, citing the buildings' height and the lack of low- and moderate-income housing.<ref name="complex planned" /> Community members also raised concerns that the development would cause gentrification by pushing out lower-income tenants and family businesses.<ref name="complex planned" /><ref name="n104903615" /> Some residents protested the project by requesting that Ogilvy & Mather withdraw from the project.<ref name="n104903615" /> Zeckendorf Company officials began negotiating with community board members "the day after" the board announced its opposition,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Zeckendorf announced in early 1986 that he would add affordable housing to the neighborhood.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="nyt-1986-05-01">Template:Cite news</ref> He proposed renovating 132 apartments in other parts of the neighborhood, rather than adding these apartments to his new development.<ref name="Reynolds p. 185" /><ref name="nyt-1986-07-19">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n104903697">Template:Cite news</ref> Zeckendorf made six other modifications to the project to improve neighborhood residents' quality of life, including storefronts for local merchants, a day-care center, and job training.<ref name="nyt-1986-05-01" />
In July 1986, the New York City Board of Estimate approved Zeckendorf's development.<ref name="nyt-1986-07-19" /><ref name="n104903697" /> Manhattan borough president David Dinkins, a supporter of the project,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> said the developers could not sell 60 of the complex's luxury units until all of the affordable units had been sold.<ref name="n104903697" /> The developers had to acquire another 70 affordable units to provide enough affordable housing for the complex.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They ultimately fulfilled this requirement by acquiring six buildings on the block to the south.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That October, Gulf and Western finalized its sale of the site to the joint venture of Zeckendorf, Cohen, KG Land, and Worldwide Holdings Corp.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Zeckendorf also leased the theatrical complex to the Cineplex Odeon Corporation.<ref name="nyt-1986-10-09a" />
Construction
A groundbreaking ceremony for the complex was held on November 12, 1986.<ref name="n104909466" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That month, workers began excavating the site to 17 feet below grade; the excavation was completed by February 1987.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 81">Template:Harvnb</ref> Newsday reported that the development of Worldwide Plaza would relocate the western boundary of Midtown Manhattan westward to Eighth Avenue.<ref name="p285395608" /> In June 1987, the Sonnenblick-Goldman Corporation secured a $545 million construction loan<ref name="nyt-1987-06-11" /><ref name="p292830313">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn-lr from a syndicate of 15 banksTemplate:Efn in the United States, Japan, Canada, and Europe.<ref name="nyt-1987-06-11">Template:Cite news</ref> The financing was one of the largest real estate loans in New York City history.<ref name="p292830313" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In exchange for receiving the loan, the development group provided a letter of credit and personal guarantees worth $100 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn-lr The Wall Street Journal described the loan as part of a trend wherein "the mere mention of a Zeckendorf project had bankers falling over each other to offer financing".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
At the time of Worldwide Plaza's development, demand for office space in New York City had declined following Black Monday in 1987.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p398096637">Template:Cite news</ref> The design of One Worldwide Plaza's basement and ground level was impacted by the location of the new subway entrances at the base.<ref name="Sabbagh p. 88" /> While the developers negotiated with the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) for a year and a half, contractors started pouring the foundations.<ref name="Sabbagh p. 88">Template:Harvnb</ref> The concrete for the foundation was poured by April 1987, and work on the steel superstructure began the following month.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 81" />
The construction of the complex proceeded as scheduled until July 1987, when ironworkers went on strike for three weeks, delaying the project by approximately one month.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> By the end of 1987, it was taking longer than expected to install the stonework inside the lobby.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Installation of the exterior masonry had fallen three months behind schedule and did not commence until February 1988.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 81" /> The stonework ultimately cost significantly more than HRH Construction's original estimate.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Completion
One Worldwide Plaza was topped-out with a ceremony on May 20, 1988, in which ironworkers inscribed their names on a beam that was then lifted to the roof.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Work on the interior finishes began that month. The interior fit-out of Ogilvy's offices, originally slated to begin in April 1988, did not begin until that November.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 81" /> The completion of Worldwide Plaza was ultimately delayed by four months and exceeded the original budget by 10 percent.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Most of the space at One Worldwide Plaza was leased even before the building was completed.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-19" /><ref name="p398096637" /> In August 1988, the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore leased Template:Convert<ref name="p398096637" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in exchange for a 7 percent equity stake in Worldwide Plaza.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-19" /> The lease occurred at a time when the offices of all of Manhattan's accounting firms and corporate law firms were east of Sixth Avenue.<ref name="Voien 2009">Template:Cite web</ref> The law firm's lease also stipulated that Zeckendorf buy and demolish an adult movie theater just north of One Worldwide Plaza.<ref name="p398119478">Template:Cite news</ref> Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Ogilvy & Mather each had their own entrances and elevators, and the developers gave large "work letters" to both firms, compensating for the cost of interior furnishings.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-19" /> These two tenants alone accounted for 55 percent of the space.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 68" /> By early 1989, more than 90 percent of the space at One Worldwide Plaza had been leased.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-29" /> Advertising agency N. W. Ayer & Son agreed to move into Template:Convert at One Worldwide Plaza,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and it also took an equity stake in the complex.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Record label PolyGram had leased Template:Convert.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-29" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Opening and early years
Worldwide Plaza was completed in 1989,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /> and a temporary certificate of occupancy was issued that February.<ref name="Kalayjian p. 81" /> The Worldwide Cinemas multiplex beneath the complex opened in June 1989,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Cravath, Swaine & Moore moved into One Worldwide Plaza that September.<ref name="p398119478" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ogilvy's offices were completed behind schedule, costing the developers several million dollars.<ref name="Voien 2009" /> By then, Zeckendorf was developing several additional structures along the midtown section of Eighth Avenue, including two buildings directly next to Worldwide Plaza.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Soon after the complex opened, Lifetime Cable Network also leased space at One Worldwide Plaza,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as did electronics company Philips.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The residences within the complex were not fully sold until 1993,<ref name="nyt-1994-08-142">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a quarter of the retail space was still empty in 1996.<ref name="nyt-1996-05-05" />
Although the offices were fully occupied in the mid-1990s,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the office space was not as profitable as Zeckendorf had originally projected. Three of One Worldwide Plaza's largest tenants had only agreed to rent space in exchange for equity, while other tenants such as PolyGram, Microsoft, and Roberts & Holland paid less rent per square foot compared to other Midtown buildings.<ref name="nyt-1996-05-05">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, Deutsche Bank held a $600 million mortgage loan on Worldwide Plaza.<ref name="p219164348" /><ref name="nyt-1996-10-20" /> In the wake of Black Monday, the developers were barely able to make mortgage payments as long as the building's original tenants continued to pay rent.<ref name="p219164348">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
By 1996, Deutsche Bank was looking to sell its mortgage. Zeckendorf's syndicate wished to find a partner to help buy the mortgage from Deutsche Bank, with little success. At the time, One Worldwide Plaza was fully occupied by several large tenants with long leases, but the average rent for office space had decreased about one-third since 1990.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> That October, the Blackstone Group bought the mortgage from Deutsche Bank for $300 million.<ref name="nyt-1996-10-20">Template:Cite news</ref> Blackstone extended PolyGram's and Ayer's leases. Ogilvy had decided to relocate, though other companies quickly expressed interest in Ogilvy's vacant space.<ref name="p219164348" /> In October 1998, Equity Office Properties agreed to acquire the complex for about $310 million, and it also agreed to assume the $268.1 million in debt on the property.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As part of a pilot program, Captivate Network installed electronic screens in One Worldwide Plaza's elevators,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the majority of the building's elevators had these screens by late 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2000s and early 2010s
The administration of mayor Rudy Giuliani sued the owners of Worldwide Plaza and two other buildings in 2000, alleging that these buildings' privately owned public spaces violated city laws. At Worldwide Plaza, two restaurants had illegally taken over many movable chairs and tables, which had been installed there as "public amenities".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The suit was settled in mid-2002 after Equity Office applied to convert ten percent of the plaza's space into a private dining area for the complex's restaurants.<ref name="nyt-2002-06-30" /> Meanwhile, the Loews Cineplex at Worldwide Plaza closed in early 2001 after its operator went bankrupt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The former multiplex temporarily served as office space for accounting firm Deloitte later that year after that firm's offices were destroyed in the September 11 attacks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The multiplex then became an Off-Broadway venue, Dodger Stages (now New World Stages), in 2004.<ref name="nyt-2004-10-22" /><ref name="Webber p. 36" />
In February 2007, after a bidding war with Vornado Realty Trust, Blackstone acquired Equity Office's portfolio, including One Worldwide Plaza and seven other buildings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The firm immediately resold the structures to Harry B. Macklowe as part of a $7 billion transaction;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One Worldwide Plaza alone was worth $1.7 billion.<ref name="Stichweh 2016" /> Macklowe took out a $7.6 billion loan to fund the acquisitions, which was to come due within twelve months.<ref name="wsj20070922">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Macklowe personally pledged $1 billion, as well as interests in twelve other properties, as a guarantee.<ref name="wsj20070922" /> By February 2008, the Macklowe Organization had no way to refinance the debt from the previous year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As such, Macklowe surrendered One Worldwide Plaza to his lender, Deutsche Bank.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After selling Macklowe's other buildings, Deutsche Bank announced in June 2009 that it would sell One Worldwide Plaza.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next month, Deutsche Bank agreed to sell the building for $600 million to George Comfort and Sons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One Worldwide Plaza was only 46 percent occupied at the time,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the building still had a 40 percent vacancy rate at the end of the year.<ref name="Voien 2009" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Television station WNET leased space at One Worldwide Plaza in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Japanese investment bank Nomura agreed to lease around Template:Convert in 2011,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> bringing the building to 95 percent occupancy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The bank beat out law firm Wilmer Hale, which had also been interested in the space.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> George Comfort & Sons put the building up for sale in August 2012, reportedly hoping for a $1.7 billion valuation, almost triple what the company had paid just three years prior.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By October 2012, bids for the building only reached around $1.5 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Potential buyers were reportedly worried about the building's tenants including Nomura, which had recently had its credit rating downgraded by Moody's Investors Service, and Cravath, after the law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf had declared bankruptcy earlier that year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Deutsche Bank provided a $710 million mortgage on the property in February 2013.<ref name="gs to lead">Template:Cite news</ref>
American Realty Capital ownership
2010s
American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT, one of several companies owned by New York real estate mogul Nicholas Schorsch, acquired a 48.9 percent interest in the property for $220 million in November 2013, as well as the rights to buy the remaining 51.1%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="trd-2013-11-01" /> The move came several months after Scott Rechler's RXR Realty had attempted to purchase the building for $1.25 billion. RXR sued American Realty Capital in an attempt to prevent the latter from acquiring ownership of the building.<ref name="wsj-2013-10-28">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="trd-2013-11-01">Template:Cite web</ref> RXR continued its lawsuit even after American Realty Capital had bought the building.<ref name="trd-2013-11-01" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the 2010s, Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Nomura Securities each continued to occupy roughly Template:Convert.<ref name="TRD">Template:Cite news</ref> M. Shanken Communications (owner of Wine Spectator)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and CBS-TV both leased space in 2014,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> followed the next year by Howard J. Rubenstein's Rubenstein Associates<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Prometheus Global Media.<ref name="TRD" /> These transactions brought the building to full occupancy.<ref name="TRD" />
American Realty Capital placed One Worldwide Plaza for sale in January 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The firm exercised its option to purchase an additional 49.9 percent stake in June 2017 for $277 million, bringing the company's ownership to 98.8%.<ref name="49 percent">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While the company had initially hoped to sell its entire stake in the building, bidders were discouraged by the property's existing $870 million mortgage, and foreign entities had decreased their investment in New York real estate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> American Realty Capital opted to sell only a non-controlling stake in the building and pursue a refinancing.<ref name="49 percent" /> That September, RXR Realty and SL Green Realty agreed to purchase a 48.7 percent stake in One Worldwide Plaza, valuing the building at $1.73 billion.<ref name="49 percent" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the acquisition, American Realty Capital owned 50.1 percent of the building's equity and George Comfort & Sons maintained a 1.2 percent stake.<ref name="gs to lead" /> At the time, the tenants included Nomura Holdings; Cravath, Swaine and Moore; CBS; and WebMD.<ref name="trd-2017-09-12">Template:Cite web</ref>
Goldman Sachs agreed to provide a $1.2 billion loan to refinance the property following the acquisition.<ref name="gs to lead" /><ref name="trd-2017-09-12" /> The commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) loan closed on October 17 and was one of the largest CMBS loans on a New York office building since the 2008 financial crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly after origination, Goldman Sachs syndicated 25 percent of the loan to Deutsche Bank.<ref name="benchmark">Template:Cite web</ref> The loan consisted of $940 million in senior debt and a $260 million junior loan. At the time, an appraisal valued the property at $1.74 billion since the building was 98.4 percent occupied and generating net cash flows of over $85 million a year.<ref name="benchmark" /> In November 2019, West Monroe Partners leased one floor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2020s to present
By 2023, Nomura sought to downsize its space at One Worldwide Plaza,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Cravath, Swaine & Moore planned to relocate.<ref name="Cavanaugh 2023 w559">Template:Cite web</ref> These two tenants collectively occupied 70 percent of the building, prompting concerns that a $940 million loan on the Worldwide Plaza complex could not be paid off.<ref name="Cavanaugh 2023 w559" /> By January 2024, One Worldwide Plaza was valued at $1.2 billion, a one-third decrease from its 2018 valuation.<ref name="Elstein 2024 j645">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="The Real Deal 2024 d028">Template:Cite web</ref> The $940 million senior loan on the building was nearly sent to special servicing in October 2024<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> after the loan was placed on a lender watchlist due to lower-than-expected cash flow.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The loan was restructured in early 2025, avoiding the need for special servicing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, there was a dispute regarding $90 million that had been placed in a reserve account when RXR and SL Green bought a minority stake in the building. In 2025, a state judge ruled that American Realty Capital could keep the money and use the funds to attract tenants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The building was appraised at $345 million, or 20% of its 2018 value, by August 2025,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the building's mortgage lenders were at risk of losing $488 million as a result.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Occupancy rates had dropped to 63% by then, and WNET also announced plans to move out that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Extell Development bought the building's $190 million mezzanine loan in November 2025, at which point the building's outstanding debt of $940 million was about to be sold at a foreclosure auction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reception
When One Worldwide Plaza was announced, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger criticized the cheapness of the building's materials, including the use of brick and the lack of granite, as well as the large massing of the tower and the small size of the driveway. He also noted the building's inspiration from the New York Life Building and Crown Building. Nonetheless, Goldberger wrote: "In general, this is the sort of plan the West Side of midtown Manhattan has been waiting for."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Following Worldwide Plaza's completion, Goldberger declared that the project had "turned one of the harshest blocks of midtown Manhattan into a glittering island of corporate luxury."<ref name="Goldberger">Template:Cite news</ref> He did describe One Worldwide Plaza's lower stories as resembling "stone wallpaper" because the cladding was so thin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Herbert Muschamp, also of the Times, regarded the building as one of the city's "Art Deco retreads".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post wrote: "Worldwide within its single city block thus epitomizes the transformation from commercial to residential, and it does so in buildings of singular handsomeness and distinction."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The architect Robert A. M. Stern described One Worldwide Plaza as "the first office building of any importance to be built west of Eighth Avenue" since 330 West 42nd Street was completed in 1931.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /> Ylonda Gault of Crain's New York wrote that One Worldwide Plaza's completion had "catapulted Mr. Childs to celebrity status in architect circles".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Conversely, Daniel Bluestone wrote for Design Book Review in 1992: "For all of its massive display of urbanity, the recoil of the development from its neighborhood is striking."<ref name="Bluestone p. 44" /> Nicolai Ouroussoff described One Worldwide Plaza as having a "pointless circular arcade" and said that, like the Hearst Tower several blocks north, the building had a "strained relationship to the streets below".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Brendan Gill, writing for The New Yorker in 1990, criticized the project as having "cool reasonableness", which he saw as "a defect that its designers and builders must have seen as a virtue".<ref name="Nast 1990">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Gill also disliked the fact that the complex's largest structure (One Worldwide Plaza) was on Eighth Avenue rather than the middle of the block, and he believed the classical detailing to be excessive.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 463" /><ref name="Nast 1990" /> Eric Nash wrote in 2005 that the building "lacks Rockefeller Center's sweetly naive spirit, yet still manages to be a distinctive presence on the midtown skyline".<ref name="Nash 2005" />
Worldwide Plaza's construction was documented in a five-episode PBS miniseries.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 461" /><ref name="Bluestone p. 43">Template:Harvnb</ref> In addition, Karl Sabbagh wrote the book Skyscraper: The Making of a Building to complement the PBS miniseries.<ref name="nyt-1994-08-142" /><ref name="Bluestone p. 43" /> Goldberger wrote that the series was focused largely on the process of actually constructing Worldwide Plaza, rather than "the majesty and ambition of the American skyscraper", as Childs had intended for One Worldwide Plaza to be.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
References
Notes
Explanatory notes
Inflation figures
Citations
Sources
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite magazine
- Template:Cite thesis
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite ny2000
- Template:Cite magazine
External links
- Template:Official
- One Worldwide Plaza on CTBUH
- Template:Usurped on Emporis
- One Worldwide Plaza on Skyscraperpage.com
- One Worldwide Plaza on Structurae
- One Worldwide Plaza on in-arch.net
Template:Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Template:Midtown North, Manhattan
- Pages with broken file links
- 1980s architecture in the United States
- 1989 establishments in New York City
- Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
- Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
- Office buildings completed in 1989
- Postmodern architecture in New York City
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings
- Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan