Macklowe's Drake Replacement Revealed, To Much Chagrin

Tuesday, August 21, 2007, by Joey

Megadeveloper Harry Macklowe was Public Enemy #1 on the Wired New York boards over his acquisition and impending tear-down of the Drake Hotel (shrouded above; photo via Wired's NYGuy) and various townhouses along East 57th Street, and now that a rendering of what Macklowe is building on the site has popped up on his website, the hate continues. As you can see, the vision for 440 Park Avenue is pretty bare bones right now, but that doesn't stop the "short, fat box" comments and references to Macklowe as a "gremlin developer." You knew this crowd would be a tough one to please no matter what was designed for the Drake site, and indeed, they are not pleased. At least Macklowe will have a nice place to curl up and cry.
· Thread: 50 East 57th (Drake site) [WiredNY]
· Architecture Geeks Pissed About Big Mack's Attack [Curbed]

Filed under Architecture, Commercial Real Estate, Hotels, Manhattan: Midtown East/Kips Bay, Manhattan: Upper East Side, Real Estate Development, 440 Park Avenue, Drake Hotel, Harry Macklowe, Wired New York

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Comments (6 extant)

The design is the perfect embodiment of New York's current architecture. Form follows finance.

By GrandPa at August 21, 2007 9:35 AM

Heinous and brutal

By Anonymous at August 21, 2007 11:46 AM

It's a zoning diagram folks. Way too vague to get too excited about, but you can bet they will max it out.

By Jo Mama at August 21, 2007 1:02 PM

form follows function, grandpa

By Anonymous at August 21, 2007 4:43 PM

4:43 -

don't you get it? oh... you must live in Greenpoint....

By dirty ol' bastard at August 21, 2007 5:42 PM

What a disgrace. Hopefully the markets will destroy his funding before he destroys the almost entirely gutted Drake! Why preservationists did not step in to save this one is beyond me!!!

By Sully at August 22, 2007 10:09 AM