111 West 57th Street contains numerous resident amenities, housed mostly in the building's base, as well as a large rotunda within Steinway Hall that is also a designated city landmark.

[23] The residential tower atop Steinway Hall is one of the tallest buildings in the United States, as well as the thinnest skyscraper in the world with a width-to-height ratio of about 1:24.

[29][36][37] The top section of the northern elevation, above the highest habitable story, contains reflective glass panels in front of the pinnacle's reinforced concrete walls.

[1][28][29] The piers are meant to be reminiscent of older terracotta designs in New York City, and the beige color complements the limestone facade of Steinway Hall.

[15] Steinway Hall originally had a cellar vault extending under the roadway at 57th Street, which was partially infilled and modified as part of the tower's construction.

[15][41] The core structural system is formed by two large shear walls installed behind the eastern and western facades, maximizing usable floor area.

The rear of the ground floor contained the Walnut Room, with walnut-paneled walls, windows facing 58th Street, and a beamed ceiling with pastel-color designs.

[69] The largest unit, a three-bedroom duplex penthouse on floors 19 and 20, contains a stone entrance foyer, private terraces, an office, a den, a kitchen, and a living room with 26-foot (7.9 m) ceilings.

Work was delayed because the 1916 Zoning Resolution prohibited non-residential buildings on that section of 58th Street; additionally, neighborhood residents had filed lawsuits against Steinway & Sons, which were settled by July 1920.

[86][87] Steinway Hall and its land were sold to Manhattan Life the following year, with the insurance company planning to occupy the building as its home office.

[86] 111 West 57th Street subsequently became the Manhattan Life Insurance Company Building,[89] but Steinway & Sons continued to lease space there, including the ground-floor showroom.

[102] In early 2012, Starwood sold a majority interest in the assemblage to JDS Development Group for $40 million and stayed on as a joint venture partner.

[103][104] That March, the first plans for the site at 105–107 West 57th Street were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings for a 51-story tower rising 671 feet (205 m) and containing 27 condominiums.

[118][119] Further complicating the planning process, the LPC had considered landmark status for Steinway Hall's rotunda in mid-2013; such a designation would require the developers to preserve the space.

[125] That July, the developers installed the tallest freestanding crane in New York City history, measuring 220 feet (67 m), to construct the residential tower.

[127] Due to technicalities in New York City zoning law, the new tower was classified as an alteration of the existing Steinway Hall, which also had the address 111 West 57th Street.

[28] The site had to be excavated manually to avoid disturbing Steinway Hall's tenants; materials had to be staged inside the building; and the crane could not operate if the wind speed was over 35 miles per hour (56 km/h).

[148] Despite an unfavorable luxury real estate market, the building's 7,175-square-foot (666.6 m2) penthouse entered contract in mid-2019 for "close to" its asking price of $58 million, making it one of the most expensive New York condo sales of 2019.

[151] In 2020, Steinway Hall's landmarked rotunda was restored by John Canning Studios, which mitigated water damage, repaired the ceiling and entablatures, and cleaned the walls and metalwork.

This caused the project to fall into danger of missing key construction deadlines and a corresponding decline in sales, and thus face the possibility of having to repay outstanding debt.

[28][153] Despite a general decrease in real estate activity due to the pandemic, there were several multi-million-dollar sales at 111 West 57th Street during mid-2020,[154][71] and a penthouse went into contract for $50 million that December.

[67][167] Sotheby's International Realty took over as the building's condominium sales agent in July 2024,[168] and Bonhams auction house leased the former piano showroom that September.

[172] AmBase refiled the second lawsuit in federal court in early 2018, claiming that Maloney and Stern's alleged collusion with Spruce violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and seeking a $136 million judgment.

Corcoran also sued Douglas Elliman for tortious interference, claiming the company had hired away the building's sales director in violation of her non-compete clause.

[181] The decision was condemned by the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York's leader, Gary LaBarbera, who in May 2015 criticized the developers for not using union labor or giving the workers adequate safety training.

"[181] Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer sided with LaBarbera, sending Stern a letter expressing concern over the workers' safety, training, and pay.

[183] New York City Public Advocate Letitia James echoed Brewer's concerns and agreed that the usage of non-union labor could lead to increased danger for workers.

[188] On January 21, 2019, a suspended scaffold attached to the building broke free from the exterior of floor 55 and showered pieces of broken glass from cracked windows over nearby sidewalks due to high winds.

The New York City Buildings Department initiated a partial stop work order, and issued the site a violation for failure to safeguard construction equipment.

[193] Writing for Vanity Fair, architectural critic Paul Goldberger referred to the plans for the tower as "quite possibly the most elegant" of Billionaires' Row's structures.