Memorial Sloan Kettering’s new tower on East 67th Street will be 76 feet shorter than previously planned, the cancer center said, even after winning the approval of the Council to build higher last year. The move follows ongoing negotiations with the local City Council member and community board, who wanted a lower profile, even after endorsing the higher design.
Previously conceived as a 557-foot specialty hospital, the new project will be 481 feet with a shorter frame more in line with the wishes of outspoken residents, including members of Community Board 8 and Council Member Julie Menin. The reduced height will not mean a reduction in bed count and will offer the same level of services, the health system said in a statement.
Memorial Sloan Kettering received the needed rezoning for its new tower in September after committing to additional conditions, including a $10 million investment in surrounding infrastructure and a $500,000 donation to the local school’s parent teacher’s association, to get Menin’s support following a lengthy land use process. Construction on the project, which was first proposed in 2001, is planned to start in 2026. The system is preparing to see the first patients there in 2030.
The system looked for new ways to reduce the height following a request from Menin, despite already receiving her support for the project. The reduction will mitigate the impact of construction on the neighborhood while lowering the building’s environmental impact, she said in a statement. When she approved the rezoning, which allowed for as much as 598 feet, it was understood that the health system would continue to explore ways to lower the height without sacrificing services, Menin told Crain’s.
“If this had been affordable housing it would be the same thing,” said Menin, who is facing a primary challenger this year and is widely expected to run to be Council Speaker next year. “The last thing I want to do is tell the developer to cut the building height in half. Then we would have a miniscule amount of affordable housing being built in our community. It is possible to do two contrary things at the same time.”
The height is unlikely to change again, according to Menin. “This is it,” she said.
The downscaling comes as many hospital systems brace for reductions in the face of economic headwinds and looming funding cuts from the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. Multiple hospitals and academic institutions, including New York-Presbyterian, Columbia University and Catholic Health, have announced layoffs to mitigate the impact of the current climate. The price of steel, a critical component of construction, and other materials is expected to rise in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including a 25-50% hike on tariffs on steel imports announced Friday.
Cost was not a driver in the decision to lower the height, according to spokeswoman Andrea Fassacesia. The estimated price of the building is $2.3 billion.
The new hospital will be named after billionaire hedge fund magnate and Republican megadonor Kenneth Griffin after he and producer David Geffen made a $400 million donation to the health system.
The new design comes as Northwell Health is pushing to rezone part of the neighborhood to build a new tower at Lenox Hill Hospital. The initiative has faced similar opposition to the size and scope of the project, as well as disruptions from construction. The health care system, the largest in the northeast, has reduced the proposed height of its plan multiple times to win the needed support.
