If West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues exemplifies Manhattan’s regenerative energy, the block east between Fifth and Sixth avenues remains a black hole of development ambition.
The 900-foot-long block — longer than three and a half midtown north-south blocks — looks gloomier every year as landowners hold out for magic-bullet combos of tenant commitments and construction financing.
West of Bergdorf Goodman and the Crown Building stretches a procession of vacant lots, empty storefronts and scaffolding. At least four enormous sites await activity. Developers including Vornado, Lefrak, Soloviev, and at least one unknown outfit have kept their sites barren for years.
The latest blows to the block were the closings of Brasserie 8 and a Half at Soloviev’s 9 West and Rue 57 at the western corner. The opening soon of a small Abel Richard handbags boutique at 7 West is more than offset by large retail vacancies on either side of Nobu at 40 W. 57th and at the former locations of Mangia and other shops and cafes.
Manhattan-based developer Sedesco, meanwhile, is demolishing a building to enlarge a site it’s been assembling for more than 10 years between 37-47 W. 57th St.
The supertall, mixed-use project is to be designed by “starchitect” Rem Koolhaas’ OMA studio. It will likely re-energize its surroundings. But no construction plans have yet been filed with the Department of Buildings.
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