Brookfield presses forward with Manhattan West’s next big office tower

Get ready for another tall tower to rise on the once-empty far west side of Manhattan: Crain’s reports that developer Brookfield Properties will proceed with plans for 2 Manhattan West, despite the lack of an anchor tenant for the building.

“We know firsthand that space in 2 Manhattan West is highly sought-after, and we’re moving ahead,” Ben Brown, an executive vice president at Brookfield, told Crain’s. The developer has tapped the Qatari Investment Authority (which also holds a stake in the Empire Stat Building) as its co-developer on the project.

The developer first filed plans for the structure, which will rise 58 stories, back in 2017, but there’s been little news about its progress since then. According to Crain’s, the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed tower is expected to be complete by 2022.

The building will be entering a crowded market: In addition to the other towers at Manhattan West (including the retrofitted Brutalist building at 450 West 33rd Street), the Hudson Yards megaproject is right across the street; the Spiral, Bjarke Ingels’s office supertall, is also on the rise just a few blocks away.

But as Crain’s notes, tenants have already lined up at 1 Manhattan West, the other tall tower within the mini-megaproject; the National Hockey League and the law firm Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have already signed big leases.