Sven (development) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sven |
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Under construction in February 2020
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| Former names | Queens Plaza Park |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Residential |
| Location | 29-59 Northern Boulevard Long Island City, Queens, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°45′01″N 73°56′11″W / 40.75028°N 73.93639°W |
| Construction started | 2018 |
| Completed | 2021 |
| Opening | 2021 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 755 ft (230 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 71 |
| Floor area | 978,000 square feet (90,900 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Handel Architects |
| Developer | Durst Organization |
Sven (also known as Queens Plaza Park) is a very tall apartment building in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. It stands at 29-59 Queens Plaza North. At 755 feet (230 m) tall, Sven is the second-tallest building in Queens. Only the Skyline Tower is taller. It's also one of the tallest buildings in New York City outside of Manhattan.
Sven was first planned as a hotel, then apartments for sale. Finally, it became a super tall skyscraper. The building was finished in 2021. The company that built it, Durst Organization, started renting apartments in late 2021.
A special part of Sven is the Chase Manhattan Bank Building. This old clock tower and office building was built in 1927. It was the first skyscraper in Queens. Designed by Morrell Smith, it was the tallest office building in the borough until 1990. In 2015, the Chase Manhattan Bank Building became an official city landmark. It was then made part of Sven's design, becoming the building's shops and offices at the bottom.
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What is Sven?
Sven is located at 29-27 Queens Plaza North. It sits on a unique piece of land. This land is surrounded by 41st Avenue, Queens Plaza North, Northern Boulevard, and 40th Drive. The main part of the building where people live is 710 feet (220 m) tall. When it was finished in 2021, it became the second tallest building in Queens.
At the bottom of Sven, there are shops inside the Chase Manhattan Bank Building. This 14-story building is famous for being the "first skyscraper in Queens." The company that built Sven, The Durst Organization, officially named it Sven. This name has been used since at least late 2019.
Living in the Skyscraper
Sven has 958 apartments for rent. About 300 of these apartments are "affordable," meaning they cost less. The building has many cool features for residents. These include an outdoor swimming pool and a large 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) gym. There's also a private library, a shared workspace, and a playroom for kids.
Next to the tower, there's a 0.5-acre (2,000 m2) public park. The outside of the building is made entirely of glass. The side facing Queens Plaza curves inward. The inside of the apartments was designed by Selldorf Architects. The curved design of Sven looks a bit like the "Walkie-Talkie" building in London.
The Historic Chase Manhattan Bank Building
| Chase Manhattan Bank Building | |
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Prior to addition of residential towers
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| Alternative names | Bank of the Manhattan Company Building, Queens Clock Tower Building |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Architectural style | Neo-Gothic |
| Address | 29-27 41st Avenue |
| Town or city | Long Island City, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°45′00″N 73°56′11″W / 40.75000°N 73.93639°W |
| Completed | 1927 |
| Cost | $1,000,000 |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 207 feet (63 m) |
The Chase Manhattan Bank Building is also called the Queens Clock Tower. It's located at the southern end of the land where Sven stands. This building has 11 floors of offices and a 3-story clock tower on top. Morrell Smith designed it. Until 1990, it was the tallest commercial building in Queens. In 2015, it was named an official city landmark.
When Sven was built, the old Chase Manhattan Bank Building was changed. It became the shopping area for the new apartment building. It now has over 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of space for businesses.
The building's outside is made of light brown brick and Indiana Limestone. It looks like a column, with a base, a middle part, and a top. The base is made of limestone. The side facing Queens Plaza used to have three sections with windows. The main entrance had a fancy stone archway. It showed Oceanus, a Greek god, who was a symbol for the bank.
The upper floors of the building have light brown brick. The clock tower stands above the middle section. It has clocks on all four sides with Roman numerals. This made it the second building on Queens Plaza with a clock tower. The clocks are special non-winding Telechron clocks. The tower also has cool carvings of gargoyles and a castle-like top.
Sven's History
The Old Bank Building
Queens Plaza became a busy area after the Queensboro Bridge opened in 1909. A large subway station, Queensboro Plaza, opened in 1916–1917. This brought even more development. Queens Plaza became like a "new downtown" for Long Island City. From the 1920s to World War II, it had many factories, warehouses, and banks.
The Manhattan Company was one of the banks that moved there. They started in Manhattan in 1799. In 1910, they bought part of the Bank of Long Island. Ten years later, the two companies joined together. The Manhattan Company then had 13 locations in Queens. One of these was at 5 Skillman Place, which later became the site of the Bank of the Manhattan Company Building.
The company planned a new 14-story office and bank building. It would have 11 office floors and a 3-story clock tower. Construction began in 1924 and finished in May 1927. It cost $1 million to build.
When it was completed, the Manhattan Company's building was called "the first skyscraper in Queens." It was the tallest commercial building in Queens until 1990. The bank had vaults in the basement. They also used the ground and mezzanine floors. In 1928, the Queensboro Chamber of Commerce called it the best building in Queens.
Over the years, some changes were made. The bank's name changed to Chase Manhattan. Around the 1960s, the original decorations were removed from the bottom. A glass front was added. The bank branch closed in 1984. The building was empty for many years. From 2013 to 2014, an art center used the building temporarily.
Building the New Skyscraper
Early Ideas for Sven
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In 2001, a plan changed how land could be used in Long Island City. This allowed for tall apartment buildings. The land where the Chase Manhattan Bank Building stood was first planned for a 16-story hotel. But the economy slowed down, and the developers went bankrupt.
Later, Steve Cheung bought the land. He wanted to build a 30-story apartment tower. This new building was planned to be the first super tall skyscraper outside Manhattan. It would have 800 apartments.
People who wanted to save old buildings pushed for the Bank of the Manhattan Company building to become a landmark. In 2014, two companies, Property Markets Group (PMG) and Hakim Organization, bought the clock tower building and the land around it. This made people worried the old building might be torn down.
In 2015, PMG and Hakim planned a 930-foot (280 m), 77-story tower. They could build so tall because they bought "air rights." These are rights to build higher that were not used by other properties. The old Chase Manhattan Bank Building also had unused air rights. Without these, the new building could only be 38 stories tall. In May 2015, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to protect the old bank building as a city landmark.
New Plans and Construction
In 2016, the Durst Organization bought the site for $175 million. They planned to build an apartment tower. The previous developers said they didn't have enough "power" (money and resources) to finish the project. Durst kept the name Queens Plaza Park at first.
In April 2018, a smaller design was announced. It called for a 710-foot-tall tower with 63 stories. The new apartment tower would curve around the old bank building at its base.
The building's foundations were finished in December 2018. It was hard to build them because they had to work around the old Chase Manhattan Bank Building. The building got a $360 million loan for construction. Work on the curved glass outside started in October 2019. By December, the project was more than halfway done. The developers also planned to fix the four clocks on the Chase Manhattan Bank Building. This was finished in late 2020. The main apartment tower reached its full height in June 2020.
Durst held an official opening ceremony for the building, now called Sven, in early 2021. However, they didn't start renting the 958 apartments until November of that year. Durst announced plans for the public park at Sven's base in March 2022. The park was expected to open in early 2023. The next month, a brewery rented some of Sven's retail space. By mid-2022, half of the regular-priced apartments were rented.
Images for kids
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Sven site (right), viewed from a subway train
See also
In Spanish: Queens Plaza Park para niños
