Penn15 Supertall
Renderings have been released for the new supertall office building that will replace Hotel Pennsylvania. The Vinoly-designed tower, named Penn15, would add a whopping 2.8 million square feet to the skyline, topping out at 1,400 feet - 150 feet taller than the Empire State Building. Facebook – whose name is all over the renderings – had planned to move into the skyscraper but has since taken up space at One Madison.
The skyscraper looks a lot like the residential Jenga block tower Downtown – 56 Leonard.
Early plan for hotel tower above Penn Station, drawing by Charles McKim.
Hotel Pennsylvania was originally developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad after the opening of Penn Station, one of the only real estate ventures for Penn RR, unlike the New York Central RR who developed or sold most of the real estate around Grand Central. Penn RR originally had their architects McKim, Mead & White design a hotel tower above Penn Station, but eventually decided not to add it for multiple reasons. After Penn Station opened, architect William Symmes Richardson of McKim, Mead & White designed the hotel, which opened across the street in 1919. Despite multiple demolition attempts over the last three decades and the establishment of the Hotel Pennsylvania Preservation Society, the building was never landmarked.
