53W53

53 West 53 (also known as 53W53 and formerly known as Tower Verre) is a supertall skyscraper at 53 West 53rd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It was developed by the real estate companies Pontiac Land Group and Hines. With a height of 1,050 ft (320 m), 53 West 53 is the twelfth-tallest completed building in the city as of January 2025. 53 West 53 was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and contains 77 stories; the highest story is numbered 87 and some floor numbers are skipped. The facade is set within a concrete diagrid that provides structural support for the building. The northern and southern facades slope inward to a set of five spires at different heights. The building is mixed-use, with MoMA gallery space and a private restaurant at the base. The residential portion of the tower contains 145 condominiums with interiors designed by Thierry Despont. There are also amenities spaces on floors 12 through 16 and a lounge on floors 46 and 47. Plans for Tower Verre, a 1,250 ft-tall (380 m) skyscraper at 53 West 53rd Street, were announced in 2007 in conjunction with an expansion of MoMA. The original design was shortened by 200 ft (61 m) in 2009 after protests over the original height. Construction was still delayed until 2013 due to difficulties in securing financing. Work began in late 2014 and sales started the next year. It was officially topped out in mid-2018, and construction was officially completed in early 2020, though a majority of the units remained unsold at the building's completion.