83 New York Construction 6/ 2006 Work began in March on the World Trade Center memorial in Manhattan, a highly anticipated project at the central site of the Sept. 11 tragedy. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which is heading up development of the project, plans to open the facilities in September 2009. The heart of the project is the creation of Reflecting Absence, a 6-acre memorial that will sprawl through the rectangular trade center site. It also will entail con- struction of a 100,000-sq.-ft. below-grade memorial facility. Separate projects not yet begun will create a new visitors center and a performing arts venue. The development corporation reported that the memorial-museum facility budg- et was $493 million in April, though it planned on releasing an updated budget later this spring. Led by Bovis Lend Lease of New York as construction manager, crews began site preparation work in March, including de- bris removal, engineering and surveying work, delivery of construction materials, and construction of protective barriers around the box beam columns of the orig- inal Twin Towers. The project schedule calls for installing 125 footings for the complex’s structural columns by June and pouring concrete for the structures in early summer. Designed by Michael Arad of New York-based Handel Architects and Peter Walker of Peter Walker and Partners in Berkeley, Calif., in conjunction with asso- ciate architect Max Bond of New York- based Davis Brody Bond, the memorial plan calls for a tree-lined, ground-level plaza with two 200- by 200-ft. fountains, from which water will fall 30 ft. into re- flecting pools. A 30- by 10-ft. mock-up of the fountains is being tested in Toronto. The memorial grounds will feature 400,000 cobblestones and paving stones and 92 benches representing the home countries of trade center victims. A ramp will allow visitors to walk behind the wa- terfalls to the below-grade spaces, which will have areas for visitors to reflect, a mausoleum for unidentified remains of Sept. 11 victims, space to display Sept. 11 artifacts, and an access point to the origi- nal slurry-wall foundation of the towers. The planned visitor center will serve as an entry to the memorial plaza at Fulton and Greenwich streets. Located at the northeast corner of the memorial plaza, the $80 million center, designed by Snøhetta of Oslo, Norway, will also serve as a buffer between the city and the me- morial. The center has been vastly scaled down from an original 250,000-sq.-ft. structure after state leaders scrapped plans for it to house cultural institutions last year. The new smaller design was ex- pected to be released in late spring. << Key Players Developer: Lower Manhattan Development Corp. Construction Manager: Bovis Lend Lease Architect: Handel Architects; Peter Walker and Partners; Davis Brody Bond 11 Top Projects Started World Trade Center Memorial Cost: $493 million
Transcript
83 New York Construction 6/2006
Work began in March on the WorldTrade Center memorial in Manhattan, ahighly anticipated project at the centralsite of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
The Lower Manhattan DevelopmentCorp., which is heading up developmentof the project, plans to open the facilitiesin September 2009.
The heart of the project is the creationof Reflecting Absence, a 6-acre memorialthat will sprawl through the rectangulartrade center site. It also will entail con-struction of a 100,000-sq.-ft. below-gradememorial facility. Separate projects notyet begun will create a new visitors centerand a performing arts venue.
The development corporation reportedthat the memorial-museum facility budg-et was $493 million in April, though itplanned on releasing an updated budgetlater this spring.
Led by Bovis Lend Lease of New York asconstruction manager, crews began sitepreparation work in March, including de-bris removal, engineering and surveyingwork, delivery of construction materials,and construction of protective barriersaround the box beam columns of the orig-inal Twin Towers.
The project schedule calls for installing125 footings for the complex’s structuralcolumns by June and pouring concretefor the structures in early summer.
Designed by Michael Arad of NewYork-based Handel Architects and PeterWalker of Peter Walker and Partners inBerkeley, Calif., in conjunction with asso-
ciate architect Max Bond of New York-based Davis Brody Bond, the memorialplan calls for a tree-lined, ground-levelplaza with two 200- by 200-ft. fountains,from which water will fall 30 ft. into re-flecting pools. A 30- by 10-ft. mock-up ofthe fountains is being tested in Toronto.
The memorial grounds will feature400,000 cobblestones and paving stonesand 92 benches representing the homecountries of trade center victims. A rampwill allow visitors to walk behind the wa-terfalls to the below-grade spaces, whichwill have areas for visitors to reflect, amausoleum for unidentified remains ofSept. 11 victims, space to display Sept. 11artifacts, and an access point to the origi-nal slurry-wall foundation of the towers.
The planned visitor center will serve asan entry to the memorial plaza at Fultonand Greenwich streets. Located at the
northeast corner of the memorial plaza,the $80 million center, designed bySnøhetta of Oslo, Norway, will also serveas a buffer between the city and the me-morial. The center has been vastly scaleddown from an original 250,000-sq.-ft.structure after state leaders scrappedplans for it to house cultural institutionslast year. The new smaller design was ex-pected to be released in late spring. <<
Key PlayersDeveloper: Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
Construction Manager: Bovis LendLease
Architect: Handel Architects; PeterWalker and Partners; Davis Brody Bond
11Top Projects Started
World Trade CenterMemorial
Cost: $493 million
85 New York Construction 6/2006
A quartet of owners started construc-tion this year on Trump Plaza in JerseyCity, a two-tower condominium complexthat is expected to result in New Jersey’stallest residential buildings.
In the works since 2000, the $415 mil-lion complex faced various changes alongthe way, including a new project name, anexpanded ownership roster, and most re-cently a last-minute switch of constructionmanagers before work began in January.
The project had its origins with two lo-cal developers, the Applied Cos. of Hobo-ken and Panepinto Properties of JerseyCity. Panepinto had bought the 1.86-acretract a few blocks away from the HudsonRiver, and after signing on Applied, itplanned to build a rental residential devel-opment called HarborSpire on a design byDeWitt Tishman Architects of New York.
But early in 2005, Metro Homes ofHoboken bought a controlling stake in theproperty and obtained a rezoning to shiftthe use to condominiums. Then, last sum-mer, the Trump Organization, led by realestate celebrity Donald Trump, joined theproject and will manage the building up-on its completion.
The original plan was for a ground-breaking last year and a November 2007completion, but the start was delayedwhen Metro Homes decided to switchfrom its initial construction manager, NewYork-based Bovis Lend Lease, to A.J.D.Construction of Leonardo, N.J.
Dean Geibel and Paul Fried, the ownersof Metro Homes, said the switch resultedfrom a greater comfort level with A.J.D.and its experience building various high-rise residential buildings in northern NewJersey in recent years. The completion
date has shifted to early 2008. Foundation work was well under way by
spring, with caissons drilled into bedrockfor 22 poured concrete piles that will sup-port a 328,658-sq.-ft., seven-story baselinking the two towers as well as the 55-story “west” building, which will be 565 ft.tall. The base, which will house a 696-space parking garage, will occupy everyinch of the lot, which is bounded by Wash-ington, Bay, Green, and Morgan streetsand within walking distance from ferry,subway, and light-rail transit facilities indowntown Jersey City.
Most of the base and the 531,500-sq.-ft.western tower, which will have 445 condo-minium units, make up the first phase ofthe project. The other tower, on whichwork will start this year, is a 50-story,481,283-sq.-ft. structure that will have 417units and open in 2009.
The design calls for a staggered posi-tioning of the buildings and a stepped,two-toned masonry façade. Windows willspan nearly floor to ceiling, allowing viewsof Lower Manhattan for majority of theunits, which will be available in studio tothree-bedroom layouts ranging from 750to 2,224 sq. ft. Metro Homes would not re-lease sale price information on the units.
To distinguish the project from develop-ments sprouting along New Jersey’s Hud-son River shoreline, planned amenities in-clude 24-hour door and concierge service;23,000 sq. ft. of retail space; and a world-class restaurant.
Other features include a high-tech“business bar,” virtual golf course, outdoorheated pool, Jacuzzi, spa with massagerooms, enclosed basketball court, 8,200-sq.-ft. fitness center, and children’s play-
ground. American Leisure of Nanuet,N.Y., a fitness, lifestyle, and spa consultingfirm, helped design the “South Beach”-style haven. <<
Developers are already building bigin Downtown Brooklyn only two years af-ter a major municipal rezoning, with sev-eral planned projects aiming well abovethe existing skyline. Work is already un-der way on a $400 million pair of towersat 306 and 313 Gold Street that may be thetallest project on the boards.
Developed by Ron Hershco and DeanPalin on a parcel purchased by Hershcoin February 2005, the 400-ft.-tall 306Gold Street is the first ground-up resi-dential high-rise to start in the districtsince the 2004 approval of a DowntownBrooklyn rezoning plan, which allowslarger residential and commercial devel-opment. New York-based Ismael LeyvaArchitects designed the project.
Plaza Construction of New York brokeground on 306 Gold, the first phase ofthe project, in April. The 40-story towerwill be ready for occupancy in late 2007and complete in January 2008.
The 400,000 sq. ft. building will have303 condominium apartments rangingfrom studios to three-bedroom pent-houses, a 50-ft. lap pool, fitness center,screening room, parking garage, and10,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Thebuilding will also have 24-hour door-man and concierge services.
Work on the second tower, 313 GoldStreet, will get under way in August. The35-story, 250,000-sq.-ft. building will have214 condominium apartments, a 50-ft. lappool, fitness center, and screening room.
The two buildings are close to the Man-
hattan Bridge, as well as a Long IslandRail Road station and several New YorkCity Transit subway lines.
The developer withheld sale prices forthe condominium units. TerraMark De-velopment of Sugar Land, Texas is serv-ing as development and marketing con-sultant. <<
Key PlayersOwner: Ron Hershco and Dean Palin
Construction Manager (306 Gold Street):Plaza Construction
Architect: Ismael Leyva Architects
13Top Projects Started
306-313 Gold Street
Cost: $400 million
89 New York Construction 6/2006
In the end, the house always wins –which might explain why just a few yearsafter completing the $1.1 billion BorgataHotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J.,in 2003, its owners quickly embarked onbig-ticket expansion projects.
Work on a new $325 million hotel tow-er began at the end of last year, right onthe heels of a $200 million project that gotinto the ground last spring to expand thecasino, spa, and retail setup.
The tower is scheduled to be completedin the fourth quarter of 2007, severalmonths after the casino expansion willopen. The new hotel will connect to thelow-rise casino, but stand tall in the bur-geoning Atlantic City skyline.
The new structure will have 39 storiesand rise 457 ft., falling just short of theexisting hotel’s 43 stories and 479-ft.height. While the original 2,000-roomtower is the tallest building in AtlanticCity, a new Harrah’s Hotel & Casino cur-rently under construction will eventuallysurpass the Borgata.
The new tower will be separate from theexisting hotel. It will contain roughly 800rooms, suites, and condominiums; sever-al pools; additional spa facilities; andmeeting rooms.
The tower is rising on the site of a park-ing lot. To accommodate the loss of park-ing, the expansion project also entails theconstruction of a new 1,600-space park-ing garage.
Construction of the tower’s foundationhas already begun. Much like the existingBorgata buildings, the new structures willstand on steel piles driven 65 ft. into theground. The new hotel tower will requirethe installation of roughly 900 such piles,
while the parking garage will stand on 215piles, though they will have greater spacingbetween them.
Work on the concrete superstructure isslated to begin this month. The structurewill have a face of metal and glass, similarto the existing Borgata buildings that haveglass and stone exteriors. It will stand on asteel podium.
Borgata’s Las Vegas-based owners,Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage, hired ajoint venture of New York-based TishmanConstruction and W.G. Yates & Sons ofPhiladelphia, Miss., as construction man-ager, the same team that built the originalcomplex and that is already working onthe casino expansion. <<
Key PlayersOwner: MGM Mirage; Boyd Gaming
Construction Manager: Tishman Construction; W.G. Yates & Sons
Architect: Joint venture of Bower LewisThrower Architects and Cope Linder As-sociates
New Jersey Devils fans are used to cel-ebrating wildly at the sight of a red lightflashing above the opposing goalkeeper’snet because that signals a score. But it wasa green light in February that had teamand municipal officials cheering.
A state Superior Court judge threw outa three-year-old lawsuit at the end ofMarch and ruled that Newark authoritieswere within their rights to redirect rentpayments the city collects for Newark In-ternational Airport toward development ofa new 18,000-seat arena.
The ruling, which frees the city to usethe Port Authority of New York and NewJersey’s rent payments for the airport, ap-pears to have cleared the way for the $310million arena in downtown Newark tomove ahead and provide the NationalHockey League franchise with a home forthe next 30 years. The arena is set to openby October 2007, just in time for the Dev-ils to start a new NHL season.
Despite the lawsuit, sitework had got-ten under way in October. Workers had tomove 80,000 cu. yd. of dirt just to preparethe site.
The 850,000-sq.-ft. complex will con-tain an estimated 8 million lb. of struc-tural steel, another 9,000 tons of steel,
and 25,000 cu. yd. of concrete.A joint venture of Bovis Lend Lease of
New York and Hunt Construction Groupof Indianapolis is general contractor andconstruction manager. HOK Sport ofKansas City was tapped as architect for theproject, with Morris Adjmi Architects ofNew York stepping in as the arena’s exte-rior architect and El Taller Colaborativo ofNewark as associate architect.
The arena will be one of the most elab-orate and modern complexes in the NHL.Inside, the facility will house a 4,800-sq.-ft.LED screen above the ice, 750 televisionmonitors, 78 suites, 150 points of sale, 12escalators, eight elevators, and a gourmetrestaurant that will overlook the rink.
As part of a core redevelopment pro-gram planned for the downtown Newarkneighborhood around the arena, the Dev-ils franchise and other developers are
planning a 300-room hotel, 100,000-sq.-ft. office building, 1,000-space parkinggarage, and a community and culturalcenter.
The new arena will be owned by the cityand the Newark Housing Authority. TheDevils will pay rent to both, which willamount to a portion of gross revenuesgenerated by the facility, but no less than$4.5 million per year. <<
Key PlayersOwner: City of Newark and the Newark Housing Authority
Construction Manager: Joint venture of Bovis Lend Lease and Hunt Construction Group
Design Team: HOK Sport; Morris AdjmiArchitects; El Taller Colaborativo
