text: The brokerage firm again negotiated with St. Peter's congregation in late 1969 after some lots had been acquired. John White, president of consulting firm James D. Landauer Associates, proposed that the new structure on the site be a condominium development; i.e. the church would have a partial ownership stake in the new development. In February 1970, the congregation signed a letter of intent to sell its building, as well as the air rights above the church, to First National City Bank. In exchange, the congregation received $9 million and was named as a condominium partner in the tower's development. The congregation saw a $4 million net profit, as its new building cost $5 million. Members of the congregation formally approved the sale of their building in May 1971.
  Hugh Stubbins & Associates was hired to develop plans for a large building on the city block, and St. Peter's Church hired Edward Larrabee Barnes as a design consultant by the beginning of 1971. The Stubbins firm, at the time, had relatively little experience designing high-rise buildings. The New York Times characterized the site as an "annex" to First National City Bank's main building at 399 Park Avenue. The congregation of St. Peter's Church voted in May 1971 to approve the sale of its old building and construct a new structure on the same site, and they relocated in early 1973 to a temporary location at the Central Presbyterian Church. By July 1973, land acquisition was almost entirely complete, although the last parcel was not acquired until November 1975, when the lot at 884 Third Avenue was purchased. The parcels cost $40 million, making it the most expensive city block on earth at the time. The only lot on the block that First National City Bank had not acquired was 880 Third Avenue, which had been completed in 1965, and which the brokers considered too new to be demolished.
  Design process and city approvals