375 Pearl Street (Verizon Building)

375 Pearl Street | also 29 Avenue of the Finest | Civic Center | built 1912

Open on the map9 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1975

    New York Telephone completes a nearly windowless switching center at 375 Pearl Street

    The 32-story tower was built for the New York Telephone Company and finished in 1975. It looked windowless, with only a few 3-foot-wide slits running up its sides. As it neared completion, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger judged it one of the phone company's most disturbing new switching centers, complaining that it dwarfed the Brooklyn Bridge towers and threw a residential neighborhood into shadow.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1975

    December 6

    Critic Paul Goldberger calls the nearly finished tower the phone company's most disturbing building

    In a December 6, 1975 Times piece on New York Telephone's building program, architecture critic Paul Goldberger singled out the 540-foot beige box then rising on Pearl Street, designed by Rose, Beaton & Rose. He judged it the most disturbing of the company's huge equipment buildings, saying it dwarfed the Brooklyn Bridge towers, shaded a residential neighborhood and set a tone of utter banality.

    Source: Internet Archive

  3. 2007

    September

    Taconic Investment Partners buys the Verizon tower for $172 million

    In September 2007 Taconic Investment Partners bought the former Verizon switching center for $172.05 million, about $185 a square foot, while Verizon leased back floors 8 through 10. Taconic pointed to the 16- to 17-foot ceilings and 39,000-square-foot floors and announced plans to swap the facade for a glass curtain wall designed by Cookfox.

    “Taconic bought the 1.098-million-square-foot building (102,000 m2) for $172.05 million…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2008

    January 15

    Taconic's chief takes on turning a 'G.E. dishwasher' into an office building

    In January 2008 the Times reported that only three inches of limestone and a few three-foot-wide slits stood between the tower's occupants and some of the best views in Lower Manhattan. Taconic co-chief executive Paul Pariser said a reporter had warned him he was trying to turn a G.E. dishwasher into an office building, and he welcomed the challenge. He also touted the Verizon sign, which began as a Bell logo, as a draw for tenants.

    Source: Internet Archive

  5. 2011

    June

    Sabey buys the former Verizon tower for $120 million to turn it into a data center

    Taconic Investment Partners bought the tower from Verizon in 2007 for about $173 million, planning an office conversion that never happened, and then defaulted on its mortgage. In June 2011 Seattle's Sabey Data Center Properties took a controlling interest for $120 million. Sabey planned a data center able to handle 40 megawatts, while Verizon kept three floors.

    Source: therealdeal.com

  6. 2012

    The Daily Telegraph ranks the tower among the world's ugliest buildings

    In 2012 the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph placed 375 Pearl Street 20th on its list of the world's ugliest buildings. Starting in 2016 the owners renovated it, removing the limestone walls on the top 15 stories and replacing them with glass panels to make the building more attractive to ordinary office tenants.

    “In 2012, The Daily Telegraph ranked 375 Pearl Street as the 20th "ugliest building in the world".”

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 2016

    A renovation replaces the limestone on the top 15 floors with glass

    Beginning in 2016, the former switching center was renovated to improve its appearance and draw ordinary office tenants. On the top 15 stories, plate glass panels took the place of the limestone walls. Leasing of the office floors had started in January of that year.

    Source: Wikipedia

  8. 2018

    October

    The NYPD signs a lease for three floors across from One Police Plaza

    In October 2018 the New York Police Department finalized a 20-year lease for 106,000 square feet on the 15th, 16th and 17th floors of the Verizon Building, across the street from its headquarters at One Police Plaza. The space was to house administrative offices, and the department planned to move in during mid-2019. The NYPD had started negotiating for space in the building in 2015.

    Source: commercialobserver.com

  9. 2018

    July

    Rafael Viñoly Architects signs a 20-year lease for the 31st floor

    In July 2018 Rafael Viñoly Architects, known in New York for the residential tower at 432 Park Avenue, signed a 20-year lease for the entire 36,550-square-foot 31st floor, moving from 50 Vandam Street in Hudson Square. The landlord, Sabey, cited the large floor plate, 23-foot ceilings and 521-foot elevation, and the firm planned a 500-square-foot terrace. Asking rent was $70 a square foot.

    Source: commercialobserver.com

Further reading

Nearby

All 64 buildings with stories in Civic Center