The One Times Square building in New York City is getting a makeover from owner Jamestown, a real estate investment and management firm based in Atlanta that was started as a way for German investors to invest in iconic American properties. The company has said that it will use AR technology across its portfolio and the One Times Square building will be the first site to feature it. The augmented reality project will be called “Concrete Jungle AR TimesSquare.”
The redevelopment of One Times Square, the New Year’s Eve ball drop site, is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024. The immersive AR-VR experience will be available through an app produced by Jamestown, enabling visitors to see a wide range of “virtual animals” like insects, reptiles, and birds roaming against the backdrop of buildings and digital signage in Times Square. The AR app will also have games like a 3D puzzle and the ability to capture in-app photos with a “virtual animal companion.”
Augmented and virtual reality technologies could be more widespread in consumer markets faster than many think, as Big Tech firms like Google and Meta are pouring enormous sums of money into it. Jamestown President Michael Phillips said AR experiences, like their Concrete Jungle project, are “the future of entertainment, retail, advertising, and the built environment more broadly.”