See How One Vanderbilt Will Connect to Grand Central Terminal

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — One Vanderbilt Avenue's construction will add a massive new piece to the city's skyline, but it will also add millions of dollars in improvements to transit underground. The city announced what it will be receiving for the $220 million in upgrades to the area connecting One Vanderbilt and Grand Central Terminal, located next door.

The money is part of a private investment from the developers of the 1,401-foot skyscraper in what Mayor Bill de Blasio called a "new development model." Developer SL Green promised the $220 million in transit upgrades in order to secure an increased floor area ratio for the tower — the size of the building on its plot —not allowed by zoning law.

The announcement on Tuesday brought specifics on what the $220 million in upgrades will buy the city, including refurbishing Grand Central's subway mezzanine and two-thirds of that total ($147.4 million) for improvements to the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines.

The improvements to the Lexington Avenue line include:

• New exits at ends of both 4-5-6 platforms;
• More room on 4-5-6 platforms, by narrowing obstructions;
• Narrowed staircases;
• Narrowed columns.

There will also be a new pedestrian plaza between the skyscraper and Grand Central, new connections from One Vanderbilt to the subway, Metro-North and LIRR's East Access (coming in 2022), and a 4,000-square-foot transit hall on the ground level of the skyscraper.

"The new office building, transit upgrades at Grand Central and expanded pedestrian space are what I call smart growth," de Blasio said in a statement. "We demanded and secured private investments into important City infrastructure that put hundreds of thousands of straphangers first."

Construction on the 58-story building got underway in August after the developers settled a lawsuit over air rights with the owner of Grand Central. Crews just demolished the full city block where the skyscraper will stand last week.

All photos courtesy of the City of New York