October 25, 2019

Nordstrom debuts NYC flagship store

Image provided Nordstrom PR [enlarge]

Shoppers will notice the store’s wavy glass facade, seen here during construction.

Nordstrom opened its new flagship women's store on Thursday at 225 W. 57th St. in New York City. The seven-story emporium, with 320,000 square feet, is actually part of the much larger Central Park Tower, by Extell, a major New York developer.

James Carpenter Design Associates created the undulating glass facade that most shoppers and passersby will see from the street. Seattle-based Nordstrom hasn't disclosed its budget for the store, which also extends west into the lower levels of three neighboring old buildings at 1776-1790 Broadway.

JCDA calls says its “waveforms facade” allows “the oversize glass units to span the floor-to-floor plates without the need for vertical mullions.”

CallisonRTKL, which often works with Nordstrom, was its architect of record. The general contractor was J.T. Magen & Co. Work began in 2017 on the store, which is now Nordstrom's largest and, according to the contractor, New York's largest.

The 1,550-foot-tall tower, designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture of Chicago, will open a little later with 179 condominiums on its upper floors. There are 131 floors, some of which are mechanical; there are also three full-floor amenity levels. The tower topped out last month. Construction is expected to last well into 2020.

The first sales are expected to close next year. Early listed prices run from $6.9 million for a 2,114-square-foot two-bedroom up to $63 million for a 7,074-square-foot five-bedroom on the 112th floor. An off-market penthouse with outdoor pool is reportedly being offered for $95 million, though in Manhattan such prices are often used for publicity. The tower's budget has been reported at $3 billion, which Extell hasn't confirmed.

When Central Park Tower opens, it'll be the city's tallest residential structure — and, for a while, the world's tallest, too. (The 3,280-foot-tall Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, also designed by Smith, will also open next year.) It's one of the new breed of pencil-thin “supertall” towers that are altering the skyline in Midtown. It's also cantilevered over its neighbor to the east, the landmarked Art Students League building, which five years ago sold its air rights to Extell for $31.8 million.

The tower is set back from 57th to the north — closer to Central Park, which it overlooks — above the new women's store. Nordstrom opened its smaller men's store just west across Broadway, at 235 W. 57th, in April of last year. Nordstrom also has two small Nordstrom Local locations in the West Village and Upper East Side.

The new Nordstrom women's store includes multiple restaurants run by famed Seattle chefs Tom Douglas and Ethan Stowell. Stowell's Wolf is Italian. Douglas' Jeannie's serves pizza and other light Italian fare; his Hani Pacific has a Pacific Rim theme; and his Oh Mochi! serves a gluten-free donuts. There are also four other food and cocktail bars in the store, along with myriad Nordstrom services and wares.

Extell began planning the tower — and assembling the site — over a decade ago. Its financial partner is Shanghai Municipal Investment. The team also includes WSP, structural engineer; Lendlease, construction manager; and Rottet Studio, condo interiors.