Conde Nast Building Antenna Construction

[NYatKNIGHT]

Mar. 9, '03

The top has no visible signs of construction for the temporary broadcast tower:

[Fabb]

Was it another bluff, then ?

[NYatKNIGHT]

It's definitely a mystery. Is the whole thing on "hold" until the broadcasters figure out what they are doing?

[NoyokA]

My guess is that designs are still being made up. The construction start date was given a month after conception.

[ZippyTheChimp]

My spy network has produced this image of the roof of Conde Nast.


Looks like work may be starting on the new antenna.

[NoyokA]

secong that.

[NYguy]

Quote: from ZippyTheChimp on 3:44 pm on Mar. 25, 2003
My spy network has produced this image of the roof of Conde Nast.
[Looks like work may be starting on the new antenna.

Thanks. *Now get your spy network to train that camera on the Empire State. *I'm still not sure what's going on up there, but as recently as sunday I have seen odd structures on the upper levels, ironicly similar looking to the Conde Naste billboards...

[NYguy]

Another possible site for NYC broadcasters

Tower space is at a premium in the New York City area. With the Empire State building holding just about all the TV and FM it can, and a number of stations temporarily on the Armstrong (Alpine) tower, other tower sites are being reviewed for permanent and auxiliary facilities.

The TV and FM broadcasters seem to be gravitating toward separate sites. The proposed 2000-foot tower being planned for across the Hudson is being designed mainly for TV, but the Metropolitan Television Alliance (MTVA) has said it is not ruling FM tenants out.

Another possibility for a combination site is the Conde Nast building in Times Square. The building's owner plans to replace the current 132-foot tower atop the building with a 358-foot tower.

The current tower is the backup site for Clear-Channels' five local stations. It was designed to handle 12 FM antennas. The Durst Organization, the owner, claims that the new tower could house all the city's FMs as an auxiliary site. The Durst Organization also said it is talking to TV stations about hosting its auxiliary sites.

FAA approval has already been obtained and construction is planned to be completed by next June.

[Fabb]

Will wr have to wait until next June to see a rendering?
This is frustrating.

[NYatKNIGHT]

Is next June this June or in two Junes?

Whatever.
SO glad to see something has started up there.

[NYguy]

Looking for tenants

The Durst Organization, owner of the Conde Nast building at 4 Times Square, has publicized plans to expand its transmission capabilities. That facility already serves as the auxiliary site for Clear Channel's five-station group, Spanish Broadcasting's WSKQ(FM) and WPAT(FM), and public radio WNYC(FM).

"The game plan is to remove the 132-foot tower, which was originally designed to accommodate 12 stations, and replace that with a new 358-foot tower," said John Lyons, manager of communications and broadcast operations for the Durst Organization. "We would then have the room to serve as an aux site for every FM in the city."

Lyons said a new three-bay antenna would be interlaced with a digital antenna on the same aperture to satisfy broadcasters' eventual needs for in-band, on-channel digital transmission.

"We already have FAA approval and hope to begin work early next year with the project being completed by June," Lyons said.

"Having 4 Times Square serve as a true backup site for all of the city's FMs makes sense," he said. "That way not all of the eggs are in the same basket at Empire."

Conde Nast's tower project also will include aux sites for New York City television stations. Lyons said the Durst Organization was in negotiations with various television broadcasters to secure slots on the new tower.

[TLOZ Link5]

Was that article very recent, NYguy?

[Fabb]

I hope it's not.

"We already have FAA approval and hope to begin work early next year with the project being completed by June,"

Does that mean June, 2004 ?

[NYguy]

(Daily News)

TV tower planned for Times Sq.
By ERIC HERMAN
*

Television is coming to Times Square. The first new broadcast tower in midtown since the Empire State Building went on the air in 1931 is enroute.

And its first signal could be in Spanish.

Univision is close to signing a deal to transmit from a new, 358-foot tower on top of the Conde Nast Building, also known as 4 Times Square, real estate sources said.

"We're going ahead ... because there's so much interest in it," said Douglas Durst, co-president of the Durst Organization, which owns the building.

The Univision deal would be a coup for the Dursts, who decided to build the tower after the antenna atop One World Trade Center was destroyed in the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks. A spokeswoman for Univision, the country's biggest Spanish-language network, did not respond to requests for comment.

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers lost television service after Sept. 11, forcing several stations to broadcast from the 204-foot antenna atop the Empire State Building. The top of that antenna stands 1,454 feet above street level.

The Dursts planned their antenna as a backup for the Empire State Building's. But the Univision deal shows it could become the primary transmission for some stations.

The tower will rise 358 feet above the roof, putting it 1,142 feet above street level, according to co-president Jody Durst. At a price tag of $25 million, it's set to be completed in October.

The Dursts have received the necessary approvals, they said, from the Empire State Development Corp., which owns the land, and the Federal Aviation Administration. They also have permission from the city's Buildings Department.

A group called the Metropolitan Television Alliance, including WNBC, WNET, WABC and other stations, says it needs a taller tower than the Dursts or the Empire State Building can offer. The MTVA plans a 2,000-foot tower in Bayonne, N.J.

"At this point, no MTVA member has signed or expressed any inclination to sign any agreement for the Times Square location," said Edward Grebow, president of the Alliance.

The MTVA would prefer to build its tower on Governor's Island, which the city recently acquired, one source said. But officials have resisted.

The most recent proposal is to build a temporary antenna on the island in exchange for $8 million to $10 million in annual rent. The group would build a permanent tower on top of an office building at Ground Zero, guaranteeing a revenue source for the project.


Rendering of broadcast tower to be built on Conde Nast Building roof at 4 Times Square.


A scanned rendering from the paper...
http://www.pbase.com/image/14776423

(Edited by NYguy at 8:59 am on Mar. 27, 2003)

[NYguy]

The tower will rise 358 feet above the roof, putting it 1,142 feet above street level, according to co-president Jody Durst. At a price tag of $25 million, it's set to be completed in October.

The Chrysler bldg will be bumped to 4th place in Midtown as far as complete height goes. *The 1,142 ft height is VERY close to the height of the planned NY Times tower just a block away...