| Zeckendorf Towers | |
|---|---|
 Zeckendorf Towers in 2008 | |
 Interactive map of the Zeckendorf Towers area | |
| General information | |
| Type | Residential |
| Architectural style | Postmodern |
| Location | Union Square, Manhattan, New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°44′04″N73°59′22″W / 40.734550°N 73.98950°W /40.734550; -73.98950 |
| Completed | 1987 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 345 feet (105 m) |
| Roof | 292 feet (89 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 29 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Davis, Brody & Associates |
| Developer | William Zeckendorf, Jr. Abraham Hirschfeld Irwin Ackerman |
TheZeckendorf Towers, sometimes also calledOne Irving Place andOne Union Square East, is a 345 ft-tall (105 m), 29-story, four-toweredcondominium complex on the eastern side ofUnion Square inManhattan,New York City. Completed in 1987, the building is located on the former site of the bargain-priced department storeS. Klein. Designed by architectural firmDavis, Brody & Associates, and named in honor of prominent Americanreal estate developerWilliam Zeckendorf, it was one of New York City's most important development projects of the 1980s.[1]
The towers are clad in red brick and the window frames are arranged to give vertical accents, while the fifth and top floors of the office portion of the base have arched windows. The top of the 29-story towers are each capped with screens in the forms of pyramids that are illuminated at night providing a notable contrast to the illuminated clocktower of theCon Ed Building just acrossIrving Place.[2]
The 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) of outdoor space on the building's seventh floor, formerly an undistinguished rooftop filled with potted plants, make up the largest residentialgreen roof in New York.[3][4][5] The green roof was added in 2010 as part of mayorMichael Bloomberg's NYC Green Infrastructure campaign. The planted roof also serves to capture some of the rain that falls on it rather than letting it run off and contribute to flooding in theNew York City Subway's14th Street–Union Square station below it.[3]
The full-block complex with its 670 apartments was built just before the renaissance of Union Square Park in the 1990s and became a part of the emergence ofPark Avenue South and theFlatiron District as a rather chic neighborhood. The design byDavis, Brody & Associates did not originally capture much support from the public or the architectural press. At the time,preservationists began to draw the public's attention to theS. Klein site's architecture, which included the former Union Square Hotel, designed byJames Renwick Jr., architect of manyManhattan buildings, includingSt. Patrick's Cathedral.[1]
To realize the Zeckendorf plan, the site needed to be rezoned, a move that was rigorously opposed by the Union Square Coalition, a group largely made up of newer residents who had moved into lofts and apartments and feared the impact of real estate speculation on their rented homes. In order to receive final plan approval, the building which was originally planned as a single tower was scaled down in order to better fit in with the neighborhood.[1] In addition,escalators serving the subway station were built as a public benefit in exchange for approvals to develop the site. As part of the deal, the Zeckendorf Towers condominium association was responsible for the machinery's maintenance.[7]
In 1989,Vineyard Theatre opened a 130-seat venue in the basement of the complex. Developer William Zeckendorf Jr. donated 9,000 square feet (840 m2) of space to the nonprofit theatre group, leasing it for one dollar a year.[8]
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