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The General Motors Building Plaza
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Please provide a summary description of the project. ULI will use this description for publication. Please avoid predictions ("will be a gathering place for years to come") and stick to fact. This might touch very briefly on the following, which you will have a chance to describe later in more detail:

  • Size
  • Number of people served
  • History
  • Project goals
  • Physical description
  • Major features/amenities
  • Relationship to the community

The General Motors Building, 767 Fifth Avenue, is the crown jewel of the Manhattan skyline located at the southeast corner of Central Park and occupying an entire city block between Fifth and Madison Avenues and 58th and 59th Streets. Its 5th Avenue presence, universal Central Park views, unique marble cladding and modern classic design make it one of the most highly sought after office and retail locations in the world. The 5th Avenue plaza, home to the "Apple Cube" has become one of the city's top tourist attractions and a worldwide retailing phenomenon. 

Designed as a continuation of the urban experience, this plaza offers a space of quiet contemplation amidst one of the most visited areas of the city. The project took what was once was already an iconic plaza attached to an iconic building and made it more accessible, sustainable, and inviting to the local community and beyond. Designed to emulate the most famous public plazas across the globe, the GM plaza creates calm in the middle of the fast-paced environment it is surrounded in. 

Please provide a summary description of the program. Please avoid predictions ("will transform the community") and stick to facts. This description might touch very briefly on the following, which you will have a chance to describe later in more detail:

  • Scope
  • Number of people served
  • History and impetus for the program
  • Goals
  • Major outcomes, results, or impact
  • Major challenges overcome
  • Relationship to the community and community engagement
Describe the history of the land and key milestones in the development of the project.
Located outside of the prolific 50 story general motors building, this plaza was first constructed with the building in 1968. The developer of the GM Building built an as-of-right public plaza and arcade that generated bonus floor area for the building. The public plaza was 21,036 square feet generating 10 square feet of floor area per square foot of plaza. The arcade was 1,971 square feet generating 3 square feet of floor area per square foot of arcade. The developer also included a 3,934 square foot open area along Madison Avenue.

In June 2011, the Chair of the City Planning Commission issued a Certification to allow for design changes to the plaza. The approved design changes eliminated a 6-inch deep recessed area surrounding the glass pavilion and 16-inch tall bollards that were located along the perimeter of the recessed area. The intention behind these changes was to allow the space to be more accessible to the public, while offering the best retail experience.
Describe the history of the program and the relevant history of the places the program impacts. Describe key milestones in the development of the project.
Describe the physical building or space in more detail. Describe the sub-spaces and their relationship to one another.
This project eliminated 274 square feet of plaza area to create two stairwells within the plaza, one on East 58th Street and on 59th Street, which connects to the below-grade Apple store. Each stairwell is surrounded by a planter bed and a glass railing. Seat walls separate the stairwells from the sidewalks. The number of trees increased by 22, flush to grade. The design reoriented the trees from rows along the eastern side of the plaza into rows of two in the northwest and southwest corners of the plaza. The project replaced the former seating with seating walls along portions of East 58th and 59th Streets, with two long benches in the northeastern and southeastern portions of the plaza, incorporating them into 10 seating-planting installations, and moveable tables and chairs in four clusters. The total amount of seating increased by 5.66 linear feet. The design reduced the percentage of the frontage of each street line significantly to improve accessibility. Two reflecting pools were removed in favor of installing two linear water features as well as 18 circular art installations. They are made of stainless steel with mirrored glass in the center. The installations are cooled with an active glycol cooling system, with temperature sensors on the underside of the objects. If temperatures rise above a fixed level, the system will pump glycol through piping in the ceiling space of the below-grade retail reducing the surface temperature. Linear water features were added to the north and south sides of the plaza.
Please indicate the total area of the site.
What percent of the total project area is open to the public regularly?
If multiple developers, please separate their names with a semicolon. Example: City of Springfield Redevelopment Authority; Springfield Investors I
Boston Properties;
Please indicate the owner(s) if they are not the same as the developer(s). If multiple owners, please separate their names with a semicolon.
Boston Properties
If multiple primary designers, please separate their names with a semicolon. Example: Best Studio; Buildings + Buildings
Foster + Partners; JBB; LANGAN; TURNER; TPG; SGH
If multiple primary creators, please separate their names with a semicolon. Example: City Redevelopment Authority; Community Development Partners
If multiple primary implementers, please separate their names with a semicolon. Example: City Redevelopment Authority; Community Development Partners
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The General Motors Building Plaza

Category

Project > Urban Open Space