Construction On The Spiral In NYC Set To Begin

The 65-story building will feature a continuous green pathway wrapped around its façade, providing occupants access to landscaped, outdoor spaces.

Real estate developer Tishman Speyer has announced it will begin construction in June 2018 on The Spiral, a 65-story office tower at 66 Hudson Boulevard in Manhattan, after securing the necessary financing and finalizing an 800,000 square-foot lease with pharmaceutical firm Pfizer. As part of its 20-year lease agreement, Pfizer will relocate its global headquarters from 235 East 42nd Street to The Spiral, where it will occupy 15 full floors (7-21) plus portions of the lobby level upon completion of the 2.8 million square-foot Hudson Yards tower in 2022.

The Spiral
Rendering of The Spiral office tower in New York City; slated for completion in 2022. (PRNewsfoto/Tishman Speyer)

In conjunction with the finalization of the Pfizer lease, Tishman Speyer has closed on a series of transactions securing all of the necessary financing for The Spiral. The $3.7 billion project will be financed with $1.9 billion in equity from Tishman Speyer and more than a dozen other institutional, pension fund and individual investors, as well as a $1.8 billion construction loan from Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc.

Designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, The Spiral will rise to 1,031 feet and feature a cascading series of landscaped terraces and hanging gardens as its signature element. The terraces will ascend, one per floor, in a spiraling motion to create a unique, continuous green pathway that wraps around the façade of the tower and supplies occupants with readily accessible outdoor space.

Tishman Speyer President and CEO, Rob Speyer, said, “Tishman Speyer is thrilled to welcome Pfizer as the anchor tenant in The Spiral, the world’s most connected and collaborative office environment. With its iconic design, amazing views and abundant access to outdoor amenity spaces, The Spiral will serve as a major leap forward in the evolution of the modern workplace.”

“Pfizer has a proud and storied history in New York City that began in 1849,” said Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chief Operating Officer. “We are excited that this move will provide our colleagues with a modern, state of the art headquarters that will enable us to continue to fulfill our desire to be the most innovative biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and bringing new therapies to improve the lives of patients around the world.”

The Spiral
Rendering of The Spiral’s cascading terraces (PRNewsfoto/Tishman Speyer)

Located at the intersection of the High Line and the four-acre Hudson Boulevard Park, The Spiral and its cascading terraces will visually extend these new, linear green spaces to the sky. The tower will encompass a full-block stretching from West 34th to West 35th Streets and from 10th Avenue to the Hudson Park and Boulevard.

The six-story base of the building will include a lobby with ceiling heights of up to 28 feet and main entrances on Hudson Boulevard East and 10th Avenue. The base also will include approximately 25,000 square feet of retail.

Tishman Speyer has tapped Turner Construction to serve as the Construction Manager for the project, which is expected to generate approximately 7,600 construction jobs and more than 7,100 permanent office, retail and building-service jobs upon completion.

In addition to The Spiral, Tishman Speyer is currently building The Jacx, a 1.2 million square-foot office development in Long Island City that is more than 70% pre-leased to Bloomingdales and WeWork; and The Wheeler, a 10-story, 620,000 square foot creative office campus that rises above Macy’s Downtown Brooklyn department store.

A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Executive Vice Chairman Josh Kuriloff represented Pfizer in the lease negotiation.