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How tall is 550 Vanderbilt? 40 feet above what they say (and it's allowed)

Also see coverage regarding 535 Carlton and 461 Dean.

Remember how the condo tower 550 Vanderbilt was described by developer Greenland Forest City Partners as "[n]estled at the intersection of five of the borough’s most desirable neighborhoods"?

I focused on that bizarre geographic description, but project neighbor/opponent Patti Hagan pointed to the bizarreness of using the verb "nestle," which means, among other things, "to settle snugly or comfortably" and "lie in an inconspicuous or sheltered manner."

Well, it's not inconspicuous at all, especially that extra height shown at right, still covered in scaffolding.

Note Prospect Heights resident Gib Veconi's recent tweet:
Indeed, while the building is officially 202 feet tall,  the height is defined--as is typical--as the "maximum height of the last occupiable floor." A Department of Buildings document indicates 40 feet for bulkheads. That's nearly 20% taller.

According to the project's Design Guidelines, "Rooftop mechanical equipment and elevator and stair bulkheads may exceed the maximum building heights" as long as they're set back from the street at least ten feet, do not exceed 20% of the building's lot coverage, and add more than 40 feet of height.

That may be typical in the city, but it also further challenges the developer's claim that the building is "nestled" into the neighborhood.


Another view of the elevations, below.

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