One Times Square offers panoramic views, shot in arm to struggling area

Times Square, the “Crossroads of the World,” is at its own commercial crossroads — but an ambitious, newly launched project by developer Jamestown is expected to bring long-needed glamour to the Bowtie’s tackier south end.Jamestown is opening One Times Square’s full array of “immersive” attractions to the public on Friday — five years since the half-billion-dollar adaptive reuse of the iconic but empty former office tower was announced.Guests who pay $44 each enjoy the tower’s Times Square Skywalk, a top-floor, open-air, 360-degree viewing platform, and a “Times Travel” package on lower indoor floors highlighting the bright-lights district’s history — including a simulated 1930s dirigible ride over Manhattan.  Business advocates say the opening will blunt the blight of tip-seeking costumed cartoon characters, most of whom suit up on the pedestrian plaza at the tower’s foot.Although without offices, the New Year’s Eve ball-drop building’s success or failure is vital to perceptions of the “Bowtie” formed by the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue between West 42nd and West 47th streets.Office tenants and merchants are rooting for the new attraction to draw upscale visitors and burnish the area’s image.CBRE tristate research director Michael Slattery said office vacancy in the 14 million square feet of offices in the Bowtie and the area south of West 50th Street east of Eighth Avenue is a mere 11.7% compared to 20% in West Midtown overall.“Times Square carries well-known perception challenges.

The streetscape and tourist activity are real considerations for some occupiers,” he added.“But constrained supply elsewhere at comparable price points makes the district a legitimate, and increasingly attractive, option.”The Bowtie and West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues — the “Deuce” — have lost a bit of luster since a multi-billion-dollar public-private cleanup campaign transformed the sleazy, crime...