One Vanderbilt tops out as New York's fourth-tallest structure

The ongoing skyscraper race is has reached a new milestone. For the first time in the history of New York, and likely that of any other city on Earth, two supertall buildings have topped out within two days. Just twenty-four hours after yesterday's official topping-out of Central Park Tower, the spire at One Vanderbilt has reached its 1,401-foot pinnacle, which now ranks as the city’s fourth-tallest structure, after One World Trade Center (1,792 feet), Central Park Tower (1,550 ft), and the Empire State Building (1,454 ft). The office tower, developed by SL Green and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, is expected to open next year.

On May 31st, CityRealty announced the erection of a second tower crane atop the One Vanderbilt, which stood around 1,000 feet tall at the time. The new tower crane perched at the side of the skyscraper’s then-flat top, in contrast to the centrally-located crane that assembled the building’s office floors. The new crane was used to dismantle its predecessor and to assemble the cocoon-like, slanted crown, which rose over the course of late summer. The tower's vertical rise has picked up dramatically in recent weeks, when the 100-foot-plus girder cage rose in less than a month, surpassing the angled, 1,296-foot pinnacle of 30 Hudson Yards which topped out in July 2018.