Long-Empty One Times Square To Get Viewing Deck, Glassy Makeover

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — One Times Square, the iconic ball-drop building that serves mostly as a giant billboard as its interior sits empty, will undergo a $500 million redevelopment that will add a viewing deck and open the building up to the public, officials announced Friday.

The 118-year-old building, first constructed by the New York Times in 1904 with an ornate, granite-and-terra-cotta exterior, was rendered unrecognizable in the 1990s when its then-owners, Lehman Brothers, coated the entire 26-story building in advertisements.

On Friday, owners Jamestown Properties revealed plans to modernize the building, in part by creating a "next generation brand experience" across 12 of the building's floors, in which companies can create "immersive, technology-enabled activations" that Curbed compared to indoor billboards.

Meanwhile, an outdoor viewing deck will provide an extra-close look at the New Year's Eve ball drop as well as sweeping views of Times Square from atop the building, which sits at the intersection of 42nd Street, Seventh Avenue, and Broadway.

The project will also entail renovations to the Times Square shuttle subway station down below, including a new street-level entrance, canopy and ADA-accessible elevator, Jamestown said.

Construction will take just over two years, with the renovated building opening to the public in summer 2024.

Mayor Eric Adams, who was on hand for Friday's announcement at the base of the building, called Times Square"the magnet that brings so many people to New York City every year," and a crucial part of the city's pandemic recovery.

"This major project is yet another sign that we are moving in the right direction, towards the more prosperous, innovative, inclusive future New Yorkers deserve," he said in a statement.