51 Astor Place
51 Astor Place is an office building on Astor Place in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was developed by Edward J. Minskoff Equities. It is the headquarters of IBM's IBM Watson Group division. Like neighboring building Astor Place Tower, the black glass building designed by Fumihiko Maki was controversial for its architectural style and nicknamed "The Death Star" by locals. History 51 Astor is a product of permission given to Cooper Union to allow development on its grounds despite being a non-profit. The building was built on spec, without an anchor tenant for the building. The developer, Edward J. Minskoff, hoped to gain tenants from the financial and technology sectors. The building was completed in 2013, and cost $300 million to construct. Usage 51 Astor is a mixed-use building, with three retail spaces on the ground floor. The anchor tenant is IBM. Others include St. John's University, Mail Online, 1stdibs, and a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group, Claren Road Asset Management. Design The building was designed by Fumihiko Maki, who also designed 4 World Trade Center. The developer referred to the structure as "black glass with black granite and silver fins". Matt Chaban, writing for