Kramer Levin Client Hines Wins Approval for Iconic Jean Nouvel Tower

Kramer Levin Land Use client W2005/Hines West Fifty-Third Realty, LLC (“Hines”) received approval on October 28, 2009 from the New York City Council for the development of a 1,050-foot-tall building on a site next door to the Museum of Modern Art. The building, designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Jean Nouvel, will be approximately the same height as the Chrysler Building – the third tallest building in Manhattan – and will create a new, iconic presence on the New York City skyline.

The new building will include approximately 40,000 square feet of new gallery space for MoMA, as well as a hotel and residential condominiums. The project required two separate special permits for the transfer of development rights from two neighboring landmark buildings – the University Club and St. Thomas Church – and also required approval by the Landmarks Preservation Committee in 2008. The project will also benefit the American Folk Art Museum through the purchase of additional development rights.

Sandy Lindenbaum and Michael Sillerman of Kramer Levin’s Land Use Department represented both Hines and MoMA in obtaining these approvals, with the assistance of Special Counsel Valerie Campbell (Land Use) and Karen Mintzer (Environmental), Associates Inge Hindriks (Real Estate) and Patrick Sullivan (Land Use), and Planning and Development Specialist Robert Flahive.