Deutsche Bank Center

Time Warner Center
Time Warner Center
General information
Status	Completed
Location	10 Columbus Circle, New York City, New York, U.S.
Construction started	November 2, 2000
Completed	2003
Opening	October 4, 2003
Height
Roof	750 ft (230 m)
Technical details
Floor count	55
Lifts/elevators	7
Design and construction
Architect(s)	David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Structural engineer	WSP Cantor Seinuk

The Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper developed by AREA Property Partners (formerly known as Apollo Real Estate Advisors) and The Related Companies in New York City. Its design, by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, consists of two 750 ft (229 m) towers bridged by a multi-story atrium containing upscale retail shops. Construction began in November 2000, following the demolition of the New York Coliseum, and a topping-out ceremony was held on February 27, 2003. The property had the highest-listed market value in New York City, $1.1 billion, in 2006.

Originally constructed as the AOL Time Warner Center, the building encircles the western side of Columbus Circle and straddles the border between Midtown and the Upper West Side. The total floor area of 260,000 m² (2.8 million ft²) is divided between offices (notably the offices of Time Warner Inc. and an R&D Center for VMware), residential condominiums, and the Mandarin Oriental, New York hotel. The Shops at Columbus Circle is an upscale shopping mall located in a curving arcade at the base of the building, with a large Whole Foods Market grocery store in the basement. The complex is also home to a 1,200 seat theater for Jazz at Lincoln Center as well as CNN studios, from where Anderson Cooper 360°, among other shows, are broadcast live. CNN's Jeanne Moos, known for her offbeat "man on the street" reporting, frequently accosts her interview subjects just outside the building. In 2005, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced a partnership with XM Satellite Radio which gave XM studio space at Frederick P. Rose Hall to broadcast both daily jazz programming and special events such as an Artist Confidential show featuring Carlos Santana. As of August 2011, Jazz at Lincoln Center's The Allen Room is the recording studio for Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show, Anderson.

Design and construction

Columbus Circle, as viewed from Time Warner Center's 150-foot-tall glass curtain wall.

Construction was delayed for nearly 15 years after Mortimer Zuckerman's Boston Properties initially won a bidding contest to buy the property from the Coliseum's owners, the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Boston proposed to build two 63-story buildings to be designed by Moshe Safdie on the 4.5-acre (18,000 m²) Coliseum site in 1985. Unsuccessful competitors for the site included Donald Trump who proposed building a 137-story, 1600-foot (488 m) high building which would have been the world's tallest at the time.

Boston's winning bid was $455 million for the site. It was to be the headquarters of Salomon Brothers. The building ran into intense opposition (including most prominently Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) who were concerned it would cast a shadow on Central Park. In 1988 a court ruled that the building violated the city's own zoning ordinances. At about the same time, Salomon Brothers backed out.

A renegotiated deal called for the building to be 52 stories with Boston paying a lower price of $357 million for the site. David Childs was tapped to redesign the building.

The building still languished until 2000 when the Coliseum was finally demolished. The Center, which now has 55 floors, markets it as an 80-story building.

The Time Warner Center was the first major building to be completed in Manhattan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, although it was already under construction in 2001. While some New Yorkers noted the uncanny resemblance of the Time Warner Center to the fallen Twin Towers, the building's developer disclaimed to the press any intentional similarity.

The building's height not only allows it to be seen from other cities, but to catch the last rays of sunlight, as seen in this shot taken at sunset in Union City, New Jersey.

The Sunshine Group was in charge of marketing the building. Sandie N. Tillotson bought the top floor of the then uncompleted north tower for $30 million shortly after the September 11 Attacks. It was a record for a condominium at the time. That sale would be eclipsed in 2003 when Mexican financier David Martinez paid $54.7 million for a penthouse condo, then a record for New York residential sales.

The building has several street addresses, including 10 Columbus Circle for offices, 25 Columbus Circle for the south tower that was named "One Central Park" and 80 Columbus Circle for The Residences at Mandarin Oriental. The address One Central Park West, meanwhile, belongs to the Trump International Hotel and Tower across the street, which is owned by Donald Trump. Upon the completion of the Time Warner Center, Trump made a "little joke" at the Time Warner Center’s expense by hanging a large sign on his building gloating, "Your views aren’t so great, are they? We have the real Central Park views and address."

Tenants

The center has ground floor tenants including designer shops and restaurants. Whole Foods Market operates the Columbus Circle store in the Time Warner Center. The 68,000 square feet (6,300 m²) store opened on February 5, 2004. In 2005 the wine shop in the store closed after the store pleaded no contest to state charges of illegal operation. Whole Foods planned to replace the center with an expanded coffee bar, a gelato counter, and additional checkout lines. Upper floors include the restaurants Masa and Per Se.

In popular culture

• In the 2007 film Enchanted, Robert's office is shown to be inside Time Warner Center.
• Late in the 2008 film Cloverfield, one of the building's towers has fallen over against the other. The characters climb the undamaged building and crawl across to the fallen tower to effect a rescue.
• In the 2009 NBC TV series Kings, the King's Hall is located in an unnamed building and was filmed in the Allen Room, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center which overlooks Columbus Circle from the sixth floor of the Time Warner Center.
• Appears in the opening credits for CSI: NY.
• In the 2011 film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the Time Warner Center is shown during construction in 2002.

See also

• Buildings and architecture of New York City
• Tallest buildings in New York City
• Masa (restaurant)
• Per Se (restaurant)

Gallery

• 
  Time Warner Center taken from Central Park
• 
  Time Warner Center viewed from Columbus Circle.
• 
  Taken from the opposite side of Columbus Circle

Further reading

• Dirk Stichweh: New York Skyscrapers. Prestel Publishing, Munich 2009, ISBN 3791340549

External links

• Residences at Mandarin Oriental Detailed building information, images, ratings, pros/cons
• 10 on the Park at Time Warner Center
• One Central Park – Residential sales and information
• Mandarin Oriental Hotel New York
• Time Warner – Corporate Website
• The Related Companies – Corporate Website
• 360° virtual tour at onlinexplore.com
• Time Warner Center - 80 Columbus Circle Detailed building information, building ratings and area maps
• SOM.com Project Page
• Information about Time Warner Center