Ivy Tower

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403-foot, 41-story postmodern residential building completed in 2003. Designed by Schuman, Lichtenstein, Claman & Efron, it consists of the main tower building on 42nd Street, and a 7-story low-rise on 43rd Street, connected by a covered passage near the east end. The tower's south facade is clad in orange brick at the western three bays, and a curtain wall of silver-blue glass and aluminum at the eastern five bays, set back above a tall 3-story base of glass and metal. The base has a black polished granite water table and is framed by orange brick end piers. It is divided into three sections by recessed niches that contain round stainless-steel columns that feature slightly wider, decoratively banded, light-grey cylinders at the top of the ground floor and projecting just above the top of the base. The three bays are filled by storefronts, with a small metal service door at the east end. The end bays each have four large panes at the 2nd floor, and three in the center, with shorter panes at the 3rd floor.

The westernmost of the three brick-clad bays is wider, with tripartite windows; the other two have one wide and one narrow pane. The glass curtain wall has slightly-projecting silver metal bands between each floor, and tripartite windows with glass panels at the piers. Every bay has a black metal air-conditioning vent at the bottom.

The west facade, fully clad in brick, has a bay of triple-windows at each end; the wide bay from the south facade wraps around for one pane onto the south edge of the west facade. In the middle are two bays of small, square windows. There is a setback above the 40th floor, recessing farther back at the northwest corner. The north facade, overlooking the courtyard, is also orange brick. It has six bays of triple-windows, and an extra bay of single-windows at the east end. The 3rd bay from the east is a vertical stripe of glass, contrasting with the masonry on the rest of the facade. From the 20th-29th floors, the 2nd main bay from the east has paired single-windows instead of the wider triple-windows. Above the main roof line, the east end of the tower extends two extra floors for a mechanical penthouse, with another three levels of rooftop equipment concealed behind a glass curtain wall of all fours sides that stair-steps down on the south end to the edge of the south facade.

The south end of the east facade is a continuation of the curtain wall from the south facade. The northern two-thirds are brick, with exposed floorplates, and a single bay of small, square windows next to the curtain wall section. The brick cladding with the bay of small windows ends above the 39th floor, and the rest of the brick cladding gives way to the curtain wall around the mechanical equipment at the top above the 42nd level.

The 7-story low-rise on 43rd Street is clad in orange brick above a 2-story base of white pre-cast stone and a black polished granite water table. It contains the main entrance and double-height lobby, with a glass-enclosed passageway leading back across the central courtyard to the main tower. It spans ten bays, with tripartite windows in the two center bays and two end bays on each side. The remaining bays are recessed and narrower, with double-windows. There are exposed floorplates and black metal air-conditioning vents below each window group. The main entrance is at the eastern two bays, recessed, with a revolving door flanked by two traditional doors in metal-and-glass. It is covered by a sloping glass-and-metal canopy. At the two eastern bays the ground floor has an entrance/exit to the underground parking garage. The middle bays have storefronts on the ground floor, occupied by Ivy Nails and Spa. The complex contains a total of 320 apartment units. The ground floor on 42nd Street is occupied by 42nd Street Variety Store, a 7-Eleven convenience store, and entrances to the Preschool of America, City MD, and Mid City Gym, located on the upper floors of the base.