A proposed Midtown tower that would rise as high as the Chrysler Building won key City Council approvals yesterday — but the project beside the Museum of Modern Art may not get off the ground because the developers insist it must be even taller.
The tower, designed by Jean Nouvel, was chopped 200 feet from its original proposed height of 1,250 feet by the City Planning Commission last month.
Yesterday’s votes by the council’s Land Use and Zoning committees approved the tower at the reduced height, despite requests by Nouvel, the Texas-based developer Hines, and the Museum of Modern Art to restore its original height.
The tower was originally planned for 82 stories, including four floors of new gallery space for the museum, a 120-room hotel, and 150 luxury condos. But the developers have warned they would have to eliminate most of the hotel rooms at the lower height, making the project nonviable.
A spokeswoman for Hines did not return a call for comment.
“It would dwarf its neighbor buildings, and doom others to shadow and darkness,” West 55th Street resident Anita Rubin said.
The project is expected to go back to the council later this month for a final vote. If the developers proceed, they must also return to the Planning Commission, which reserved the right to review the final design.
Councilman Tony Avella (D-Queens), chairman of the Zoning Committee, cast one of two dissenting votes on the tower yesterday.
“The architect designed a very beautiful building, but it’s too big for a midblock site,” he said.