731 Lexington Avenue is a 1,400,000 sq ft (130,000 m2) glass skyscraper on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It houses the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. and as a result, is sometimes referred to informally as Bloomberg Tower. The building also houses retail outlets, restaurants and 105 luxury condominiums. The residences are known as One Beacon Court and are served by a separate entrance. The tower is the 15th tallest building in New York City and the 46th tallest in the United States. It stands at 55 stories tall, reaching 806 ft (246 m).
Located at 731 Lexington Avenue, the building occupies the same block where Alexander's department store once stood. It opened in 2004.
Construction on 731 Lexington Avenue began in 2001, three years after the vacant Alexander's department store was demolished. The building was developed by Vornado Realty Trust and César Pelli & Associates served as the design architect. The building comprises a full city block between Lexington and Third Avenues and 58th and 59th Streets. The complex features two towers constructed above a steel office and retail section, separated by a seven-story atrium. The residences are known as One Beacon Court and are served by a separate entrance. The design of the courtyard at One Beacon Court, which connects 58th and 59th Streets, was inspired by other historic New York enclosures such as Grand Central Terminal, the reading room of the New York Public Library Main Branch, and the skating rink at Rockefeller Center; glass walls curve around the perimeter of the courtyard, tilting slightly inward as they rise.
Bloomberg L.P., seeking to consolidate its operations into one space, negotiated a deal with Vornado Realty Trust to lease 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) of office space at the base of the tower, even though One Beacon Court was originally intended to be a residential building. As part of the deal, Bloomberg with STUDIOS Architecture as their design firm, was able to design the office to suit the company's needs, which included space for rows of uniform desks for approximately 4,000 employees and a large central atrium known as the Link that overlooks the courtyard. Paul Goldberger, in the Aug. 6, 2007, issue of New Yorker magazine, lauded the Bloomberg offices as "a newsroom truly designed for the electronic age ... a dazzling work environment tucked inside a refined but conventional skyscraper." By 2011, Bloomberg L.P. added another 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) of office space at 731 Lexington Avenue and announced plans to expand to an additional 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) in the former Philip Morris building at 120 Park Avenue.
The nationally syndicated talk show Charlie Rose is produced and filmed at 731 Lexington Avenue. Bloomberg L.P.'s own Bloomberg Television also has its flagship studio housed there.
Primary retail tenants include the first large national chains to open stores in the neighborhood, namely The Home Depot, H&M and The Container Store. The tower is also home to Sirio Maccioni's Le Cirque restaurant which moved from The New York Palace Hotel in 2006.
As of 2014[update], residential tenants included Beyoncé, former NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, and baseball players Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu. Steven A. Cohen cut the price on his firstly at $115M offered duplex-penthouse down to $79M as of June 2015.
Residents have access to concierge service by the London-based Quintessentially, as well as use of the Beacon Club, the 29th-floor amenity space that includes fitness center, entertainment suite, children's playroom and business center. Other amenities include 24-hour doorman, garage and valet parking.
In the legal drama Suits, 731 Lexington Avenue is the location of law firm Pearson Hardman.
↑ Nash, Eric Peter., and Norman McGrath. Manhattan Skyscrapers. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2005. Print.
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This page was last modified on 17 May 2016, at 11:35.