Macy's plans to build an office tower above its Herald Square flagship store

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Macy's flagship location in Herald Square proudly boasts of being the world's largest store. It is the heart of Midtown. That's why Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council believes we don't need any additions here.

"Foot traffic, car traffic is already quite terrible," Bankoff said. "And Macy's itself is a historic building that deserves slightly better than having a large tower plunked on top of it."

Macy's has plans to build an 800-foot tower on top of its store and would rent out the space.

"…we believe the best way to unlock the store's underlying real estate value and promote economic activity in the area is to build a commercial office tower while continuing to operate this iconic store as our national flagship," the company said in a statement to FOX 5 NY.

There's no better location, according to Dan Biederman, the president of the 34th Street Partnership, a  business improvement district.

"It's not destroying any green areas, it's in an area that's thoroughly urbanized already, it's on top of the biggest transit node in the country," Biederman said. "So that's where an office tower like that should be."

A Macy's spokesperson wanted to make clear these are just preliminary plans for now. The company still has to meet with local community groups and city officials before this project is approved. There isn't a date yet for when construction could begin.