Silver Towers

547 11th Avenue | also 620 West 42nd Street, 610 West 42nd Street, 600 West 42nd Street | Hudson Yards | built 2005

Open on the map10 entries

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

  1. 1984

    Larry Silverstein buys the full block between 41st and 42nd Streets, betting on housing near Times Square

    In 1984 developer Larry Silverstein bought the entire square block between West 41st and 42nd Streets and 11th and 12th Avenues, in what was then an industrial stretch of Hell's Kitchen, also called Clinton. He expected that the commercial redevelopment of Times Square would create demand for housing nearby. Years later the neighborhood began to shift from industrial to residential.

    Source: silversteinproperties.com

  2. 1989

    A lawsuit over the rezoning of the block holds up Larry Silverstein's project until 1992

    The block Larry Silverstein bought in 1984 was zoned only for single-story industrial use, and he said he needed ten times that. He finally won the rezoning in 1989, but the day he got it, the city was sued over the change. The case ran until 1992, when he won, by which time a real-estate recession had left him with no money to borrow for construction.

    Source: The New York Times

  3. 1997

    Governor Pataki's office orders Silverstein to stop just as he is ready to dig, eyeing the block for the Javits Center

    By 1995 Larry Silverstein had hired architect Costas Kondylis to plan towers, a health club and tennis courts overlooking the river. In 1997, as he prepared to start digging, Gov. George Pataki's office told him to stop, because the state was promoting the site for a Javits Center expansion. After a year he was told to build, but arranging a new loan took six months, and Silverstein said the final 18-month delay cost him $10 million.

    Source: The New York Times

  4. 2000

    One River Place opens on the block's west end, leaving the east end for later plans

    The block was rezoned in 1989, after Silverstein had bought it vacant and zoned for single-story industrial use. One River Place, a 41-story residential tower, opened on the west end in 2000. Silverstein then considered an office building for the east end, and a few years later the site was weighed as a 1,500-room hotel tied to the Javits Convention Center expansion.

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2000

    April

    Silverstein weighs an office tower in place of a second apartment house as far West 42nd Street heats up

    In April 2000 the New York Times reports that the far west end of 42nd Street, long scorned by developers, is attracting projects as demand for offices and housing peaks. Larry Silverstein, then building a 40-story complex of 921 rental apartments on his block, tells the paper he is weighing an office building for his block rather than a second apartment tower of the same height.

    Source: Internet Archive

  6. 2004

    March

    State and city officials plan a 1,500-room convention hotel here, and Silverstein balks

    In March 2004 officials want a convention hotel with 1,500 rooms and a ballroom on the corner of 11th Avenue and 42nd Street, part of a $1.4 billion plan to enlarge the Javits Center. Larry Silverstein, who owns the block, is reluctant; his spokesman says he has spoken to no one about a hotel there. Charles Gargano, chairman of the state's Javits development corporation, says the state would condemn the property if necessary.

    Source: Internet Archive

  7. 2007

    Construction begins on Silver Towers at River Place, an 80-20 rental complex of 1,359 apartments

    Construction started on two 60-story towers joined by a six-story base at 600 West 42nd Street, scheduled to open in early 2009. Under the 80-20 program, 935 of the 1,359 apartments would rent at market rates and 234 would be subsidized, financed with tax-exempt housing bonds. Costas Kondylis and Partners designed it and Gotham Construction was the general contractor.

    Source: silversteinproperties.com

  8. 2007

    Plans for Silver Towers include a James Carpenter courtyard and a Thomas Balsley park

    Plans called for a private courtyard entered through luminous portals on 41st and 42nd Streets, designed with James Carpenter Design Associates and meant to hold prominent art pieces. A public park of about 25,000 square feet by Thomas Balsley & Associates would separate the two towers, with an open lawn, birch trees, a mist fountain for children and a dog park along 41st Street.

    Source: silversteinproperties.com

  9. 2009

    June

    The twin Silver Towers are completed with the largest residential pool in the city

    The two 60-story Silver Towers, with 1,359 units, were completed in June 2009 on the west side of Eleventh Avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets. Costas Kondylis designed them as two buildings rather than the single large Two River Place first planned, to keep the halls feeling more intimate. The project includes a 75-foot pool, which is bigger than any other in a New York City residential building, and a quarter-acre public park.

    Source: Wikipedia

  10. 2009

    May

    Leasing opens at Silver Towers with 1,042 market-rate rentals and more than 200 affordable apartments

    In the week after May 1, 2009, leasing begins at Silver Towers, two 60-story glass towers at 42nd Street and 11th Avenue, with studios starting at $2,300. The twin buildings hold 1,042 market-rate rentals, plus more than 200 affordable apartments previously offered through a housing lottery. Silverstein points to higher ceilings, tiled public hallways and glass facades, and the Daily News says the project took 25 years and calls it the largest and tallest rental in the city's history.

    Source: Internet Archive

Further reading

Nearby

All 27 buildings with stories in Hudson Yards