Hotel Pennsylvania could still be replaced by a supertall office tower

The plan to replace Hotel Pennsylvania with a giant office tower may be back on the table again, the New York Post has learned. The developer, Vornado Realty Trust, is in talks with several financial firms to get the long-dormant project back up and running.

Vornado had previously received the city’s approval to replace the nearly 100-year-old hotel, located on Seventh Avenue, across the street from Penn Station, with a 1,216-foot office building to be known as 15 Penn Plaza.

When anchor tenant Merrill Lynch backed out in 2013, the project hit a standstill. It was reported shortly after, that Vornado wanted to focus its energies on the proposed transformation of One and Two Penn Plaza, including a redesign of Two Penn’s base by Bjarke Ingels.

A conference call the company had scheduled earlier this month (where it was fielding questions from analysts), revealed that Vornado had renewed its interest in the Hotel Pennsylvania project.

Vornado wants to create the 15 Penn Plaza project based on the needs of the anchor tenant, and Morgan Stanley is reportedly looking into it at the moment, according to the Post. In fact, the Post has learned that Vornado is also presenting alternate designs along with the original Pelli Clarke Pelli design.

The coming months will tell if this project finally moves forward.

• Finance firm in talks over Vornado’s jumbo skyscraper [NYP]
• Hotel Pennsylvania’s Future Is Still Uncertain [Curbed]
• Bjarke Ingels Unveils Concept For Fantastical Redesign of 2 Penn Plaza [Curbed]