Skip to main content

Plans show tallest residential building on earth coming to Manhattan

Plans show tallest residential building on earth coming to Manhattan

Share this story

One World Trade Center is just settling into New York's skyline, but a number of competing supertall structures — including the tallest residential building in the world — will soon pop up in midtown. One of those skyscrapers, Nordstrom Tower, will top out at 1,775 feet (541m), according to plans leaked to New York development blog YIMBY. That's just one foot shorter than One World Trade, if you count the spire. Without the spires, Nordstrom Tower will beat the symbolic office building: according to the plans, its roof (including the parapet) will reach 1,479 feet, 78 feet higher than 1 WTC.

That mighty height will make Nordstrom Tower the tallest residential building in the world, beating out the current record holder, Dubai's Princess Tower (1,358 feet), as well as Mumbai's One World Tower (1,450 feet) and 432 Park Ave (1,398 feet) in Manhattan, both of which are under construction. The tower, true to its name, will house a gigantic Nordstrom department store on its first seven floors, facing 57th Street. A hotel and ultra-expensive condominiums will fill the rest of the building.

Nordstrom-tower-profile

Taller than 1 WTC, depending on how you measure

News of the tower itself isn't new: it has already been approved under different plans that would have seen it hit just 1,423 feet. The modified plans leaked to YIMBY show a slightly taller roof and an added spire. Those updated specifications also reduced the size of the building's distinctive — and hotly debated — cantilever, which extends almost thirty stories above a neighboring historic building for additional floor space.

It's worth noting that the updated plans for Nordstrom Tower aren't official yet, and plans can change at any time before construction is completed. It's currently expected to be finished in 2018. Nevertheless, there's no question that the landscape of midtown is about to significantly change — no matter what comes of Nordstrom Tower. In addition to nearby 432 Park Ave, other 1,000-foot-plus towers such as One57, 111 W. 57th Street, and Tower Verre are all set to mark the skyline in the coming years.