NEW YORK CITY-New York University said Thursday it wouldeliminate a fourth tower, which would have been built in thelandmarked section of the superblock containing its Silver Towers,from its Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application forexpansion plans near Washington Square Park. Instead, the ULURPapplication will include a building on the university-owned sitecurrently occupied by the Morton Williams supermarket.

Newfound opposition by architect I.M. Pei, who designed theoriginal three-building Silver Towers complex in the 1960s, playeda strong role in NYU’s decision. “From the beginning, we sought adesign for the Silver Towers block that was most respectful of Mr.Pei’s vision,” says Lynne Brown, SVP at NYU, in a statement. “Somepeople disagreed with our proposed approach; others agreed. Webelieved that among those who agreed was Mr. Pei himself, whoexpressed no opposition to the concept of a tower on the landmarkedsite when we spoke with him directly in 2008.”

Now, however, “Pei has now had a change of heart” as expressedin a letter written to NYU on his behalf, says Brown. “The clarityMr. Pei has now provided—that the Morton Williams site is‘preferable’—is helpful to us in understanding how to proceed withour ULURP proposal.”

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Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.