High-rises

April 1, 2020

Health and high-rise living: Is higher healthier?

In 2019, NYC saw the completion of more than 15 new buildings over 500 feet, and in the coming couple of years, even more tall buildings are slated for completion, including Central Park Tower, the world's tallest residential building at 1,500 feet. None of this is a surprise. By building up, New York is able to maximize available space and even diversify certain neighborhoods by creating mixed-income housing communities. At their best, high-rise developments can drive economic and social change, but are these buildings also good for our health? Ahead, we look at the risks and benefits of high-rise living, many of which have taken on a new meaning during a time when New Yorkers are mainly confined to their homes.
more on high-rise living and health this way

Real Estate Trends

Pikettyscrapers: What You Call Those Expensive Supertall Buildings Nobody Lives In

Image: NYC’s 2018 future skyline via CityRealty

March 12, 2015

Pikettyscrapers: What You Call Those Expensive Supertall Buildings Nobody Lives In

By Diane Pham

Supertall, pencil tower, megatall, superslim, skinnyscraper... As we struggle for new ways to describe all the glass and stone towers popping up in Manhattan, we've come to notice that not one person has come up with a way to describe all those skyscrapers being scooped up, floor by floor, by the superrich, never to be lived in. Now enter the Skyscraper Dictionary, a cheeky reference site (created because "The world needs one.") that's coined all the vocab you need to throw around next time you find yourself talking about NYC's skyscraper boom. So, what do you call those super-luxury towers that nobody lives in? How about pikettyscrapers.
Find out how the term was coined

February 11, 2015

Experience the City’s Skyscrapers in Cartoons with The New Yorker’s Bob Mankoff

By Diane Pham

Condé Nast's move into One World Trade Center means more than just the offices of Vogue settling in downtown, but also some other 3,000-odd editors, writers and advertising folks that make up the publishing giant's empire. Amongst these magazines is, of course, The New Yorker. In this week's installment of the magazine's "Cartoon Lounge," cartoon editor and cartoonist Bob Mankoff takes a moment to commemorate the magazine's move into the supertall icon by musing over the skyscrapers that have appeared in The New Yorker since the city's 1920s building boom. From his office on the 38th floor of One World Trade, watch as he shares his favorite cartoons and his own experience of seeing the New York City skyline as a kid in Queens. This video is sure to make you smile!
Watch the video here

December 19, 2014

Announcing 6sqft’s 2014 Building of the Year!

By Diane Pham

DRUMROLL PLEASE… You came, you voted, and now we’re pleased to announce the winner of our first-ever Building of the Year competition! Congratulations to the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed, Continuum Company-developed 45 East 22nd Street tower which won the hearts of 29 percent of over 3,500 readers who came to cast a vote. We’re not sure if it was the champagne flute-like design that sold […]

December 5, 2014

Long Island City Tower Will Be Tallest Residential Skyscraper in NYC Outside of Manhattan

By Ondel Hylton

The tallest residential building in the outer boroughs is underway, and no, it's not going to be in boomtown Brooklyn, but rather along the rapidly evolving corridor of Queens Plaza in Long Island City. 42-12 28th Street will soar 57 stories from an 18,000-square-foot lot and will contain 447 luxury rental units. At its 635-foot projected height, it will be just 20 feet shy of the current outer borough tallest, One Court Square (the "Citi" building). Recently posted images on Goldstein Hill & West's revamped website reveal some new aspects of the project, including its ground-level street frontage and an "extensive" amenity package to include a swimming pool directly linked to an outdoor roof deck.
More details on the record-setting project

20 Years from Now We May Sorely Regret Building All of These Glass Towers

What Manhattan will look like in 2018. Many of the buildings going up will be wrapped in glass. Image via CityRealty

November 14, 2014

20 Years from Now We May Sorely Regret Building All of These Glass Towers

By Diane Pham

Providing more affordable housing to New Yorkers is at the top of the De Blasio administration's agenda, but greening the city is certainly a major concern as well. It is anticipated that a new bill aimed at cutting the city's greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 will be signed in to law, much of which is expected to center on green building. Ambitious, yes—but is 2050 too late? The Globe and Mail recently interviewed Canadian architect and journalist Lloyd Alter on the glass condo obsession, which, as with NYC, is taking the cities of Vancouver and Toronto by storm. What Alter shares for the future of glass towers worldwide is quite bleak, but he also proposes a number of measures and case studies that NYC developers should certainly take note of if they want to reduce costs and keep property values up in the long run.
Find out more here

November 6, 2014

New York City’s Residential Skyscraper Boom: Living in the Sky Part II

By Ondel Hylton

You've probably realized that New York is in the midst of a skyscraper boom, but if the ubiquitous scaffolding and sidewalk detours haven't given it away, we bring you further proof — with part two of our series detailing the tallest residential towers set to rise high above the city, forever changing New York's skyline. Compared to the previous 26 projects — the tallest of the tall that included ultra-luxury and super-tall towers such as 432 Park Avenue and 125 Greenwich Street — this second batch is composed of smaller buildings ranging from 500 to 700 feet tall and features greater geographical diversity and lots more rentals. With developers scouring the city for less expensive areas to assemble properties, these often-controversial projects are slated to rise in some of our more human-scaled 'hoods such as East Harlem, South Street Seaport, and Williamsburg.
Will they all get built? Unlikely, but in any case here's our list

High-rises

Pitch a Story

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Distinctive Post Form

Get in Touch

Send us a Tip

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Thinking about selling your home?

Sell a Home (Footer)

Before You Move On from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!

Before You Move On
from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:
Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!