The scene is different atop One Times Square, the 121-year-old New York tower that hosts the iconic New Year’s Eve ball drop late Wednesday.
The 26-story building is open to the public for the first time in decades as the surrounding neighborhood expects to see the biggest number of visitors this year since 2019.
One Times Square, which since 1907 has been part of New Year’s Eve traditions celebrated around the world, is nearing completion of a more than three-year redevelopment that includes a 360-degree wraparound viewing deck overlooking Times Square, Manhattan’s 24/7 tourist-and-entertainment hub.
This month, guests have been able to see the New Year’s Eve ball, poised to drop ceremoniously to bring in 2026, up close and have photos taken with it. Property owner Jamestown plans to open a museum next year at the tower illustrating the story of New Year’s Eve and the history of the area. A venue for weddings and proposals, along with an immersive iCandy NYC experience, is also in the works.
“I hope we’re a meaningful place that people sort of put on their bucket list,” Sherri White, an executive at Jamestown, said in an interview. “In 100 years, this building will still be here in some form or fashion. For us, it’s about building the future for a long time, and not just trendy.”
Jamestown expects to attract some 10 million visitors to One Times Square a year, she told CoStar News, adding the developer has spent $550 million on the overhaul.
Ahead of the tower’s official opening next year, response to the behind-the-scenes previews has been “great,” she said. The tours cost between $40 to $223, including access to the viewing deck, the famed ball and a commemorative crystal gift, according to the tower’s website.
The New Year’s Eve ball set to drop at midnight Wednesday is the ninth iteration. Measuring 12.5 feet in diameter and weighing 12,350 pounds, it is also the largest and features circular Waterford crystals, a departure in design from the triangular-shaped crystals introduced in 1999.
One Times Square, at the intersection of 42nd Street, Broadway and Seventh Avenue and originally built to serve as the New York Times’ headquarters, had been mostly empty for decades when Jamestown, the real estate investment and management firm known for redeveloping New York’s Chelsea Market and Atlanta’s Ponce City Market, announced the makeover in May 2022. Jamestown also has been involved with redeveloping Brooklyn’s Industry City mega mixed-use complex.
Times Square, meanwhile, has continued to show signs of recovery from the pandemic. The so-called Crossroads of the World this year expects to see more than 80 million visitors, its highest total since 2019, a spokesperson for Times Square Alliance, the area’s business improvement district, told CoStar News. In November, 89% of the area’s storefront businesses were open while hotel occupancy reached 89.8% in October, Times Square Alliance data shows.