The building has a triangular observation deck, known as The Edge, jutting out from the 100th floor, with a bar and event space on the 101st floor. This observation deck, at 1,100 feet (340 m), opened in March 2020 and is the second-highest outdoor observation deck containing optically transparent flooring in the world, after Skywalk in Madeira. The building was formerly the headquarters for WarnerMedia until the company was merged in 2022 to form Warner Bros. Discovery, which remains a tenant. The building also serves as the headquarters for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., an American global investment company.
History
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 4, 2012. Early construction work focused on building a platform to cover much of the Eastern Rail Yard, for much of Phase 1 to sit upon and to allow the Gateway Rail Tunnel project to pass underground with a clear path. The platform is rested on caissons that are drilled underground into the solid bedrock known as Manhattan schist. On December 12, 2013, it was announced that Tutor Perini Building Corp. was awarded a US$510 million contract to build the platform.[8]
In 2013, Time Warner (later WarnerMedia, and now Warner Bros. Discovery) announced its intention to move most of its offices to 30 Hudson Yards, vacating its current headquarters at the Time Warner Center, also owned by Related, at Columbus Circle.[9] The company would occupy half the building, below the 38th floor.[10][11]
In mid-2015, Related received a $690 million loan from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and CIBC which allowed construction to start.[12][13] By January 2016, the structure's first few aboveground floors were already complete.[14] Construction of the observation deck at the top of the tower began in April 2018.[15][16] The observation deck was nearly complete by mid-2018.[17][18][19][20]
In January 2019, WarnerMedia hired Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies of Cushman & Wakefield to find a buyer that would sell their office condominium and allow the company to lease it back—known as a sale-leaseback. WarnerMedia's office condo included more than 1.4 million square feet on floors 16 through 51 and represented approximately 60 percent of the 90-story tower with 2.6 million square feet.[21]
The building opened on March 15, 2019.[22][23] One month later, WarnerMedia executed a leaseback and sold their space to Related and Allianz for $2.2 billion after signing a 15-year lease for 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m2).[24] The sale closed in June 2019.[25][26] The partners financed the purchase with a 10-year, $1.43 billion commercial mortgage-backed securityinterest-only loan from Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs.[26] In June, KKR took out a $490 million mortgage from Deutsche Bank on their office condominium space.[27]
Kohn Pedersen Fox was chosen for the design of the building, while Thornton Tomasetti was lead structural engineer and Jaros, Baum & Bolles provided MEP engineering services.[29][7] Originally planned to be 1,337 feet (408 m) tall,[30] the building was later downsized to 1,270 feet (390 m) tall, making it still the development's tallest building.[7][31] WarnerMedia's space features amenities including a cafeteria, a fitness center, a two-level auditorium and cinema and an outdoor deck.[26] The protruding outdoor deck has resulted in reviewers likening the building's shape to a duck.[32][33]
The building's lobby contains artwork by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa consisting of 11 stainless steel spheres hanging from the ceiling, meant to represent global unity and cultural diversity.[34]
Edge
The building features an 1,100-foot-tall (340 m) outdoor observation deck known as "Edge", located on the 100th and 101st floors.[35] Edge contains a cantilevered outdoor terrace jutting 80 feet (24 m) outward south of the building on the 100th floor, providing panoramic views of Manhattan and the Hudson River.[36] Edge is the second highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere after the SkyPod at the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, The tallest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. However, both are lower than Top of the World, the rooftop observation deck at top of the original South Tower of the World Trade Center which was 1,377 feet (419.7 m) high. Edge is also the second highest observation deck in New York City, after One World Observatory.[37][38] Visitors can lean into the nine-foot (2.7 m) high clear glass barricade slanted 6.6 degrees outward to safely check out the street and rooftops below. Edge also features a 225 sq ft (20.9 m2) glass triangle in the floor which looks down to the street 1,131 ft (345 m) below. There is also a grand outdoor staircase on the east side of the deck.[39]
Edge opened to visitors on March 11, 2020, and temporarily closed two days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[40] Edge reopened on September 2, 2020.[41]
City Climb at Edge
In October 2021, it was announced that 30 Hudson Yards would host another attraction dubbed “City Climb at Edge” which allows visitors to ascend an outdoor staircase located at the top of the tower's crown. It was opened to the public on November 9, 2021, and is the highest open-air building ascent in the world.[42]
^"30 Hudson Yards". Hudson Yards Center. Oxford Properties Group Inc. July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
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