One Bryant Park

Durst at BoA Tower, Stimulus Funds for THE Tunnel, & Apple in Williamsburg at Edge

Mon

Feb

by Stephen Del Percio

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Durst Organization moves into LEED Platinum hopeful One Bryant Park / Bank of America Tower.
Core of LEED Gold hopeful Freedom Tower now 100 feet above grade.
THE Tunnel - second tube under Hudson for New Jersey Transit - may benefit from stimulus funds.
Much of New York City's next-generation skyline is "on hold."
Apple store may be coming to LEED Silver hopeful Edge condos in Williamsburg.
New York-based design-builder New World Home recasting the modular hous
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Rough Tuesday for Green Buildings in Midtown

Tue

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

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Yesterday was not a good day to be a green building under construction in Midtown. First, Steve Cuozzo reported in the Post that Macklowe Properties' 510 Madison Avenue, which is currently pursuing a LEED Gold rating from USGBC, has received a partial stop-work order from the Department of Buildings. Later in the morning, a 5 ' by 13' panel of glass fell from the 51st floor of Cook + Fox's LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower. The panel landed on sidewalk bridging across 42nd Street (where the former Verizon Building continues to undergo a number of green retrofits), shattering and sending one person to Bellevue. A number of streets around the project were closed while the fire department investigated the incident. Tishman Construction is serving as the construction manager for both of the projects

Midtown Midsummer Green Lease Update

Tue

Jul

by Stephen Del Percio

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Although the local real estate market has certainly cooled in the past few months, leasing activity at two of Midtown's highest profile green commercial projects continues to remain hot. Marathon Asset Management, which agreed to pay $115 per square foot for the 38th and 39th floors at LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower in early 2007, recently agreed to a 5-year sublet for a portion of its space with Korean financial firm Mirae Asset for $150 per square foot. Although Marathon isn't the only financial services firm that's looked to shed space in light of current market conditions, it's a good sign that demand is still strong for premium Class A space, though whether One Bryant Park's green features are driving the significant lease premium is obviously pure speculation.

545 Madison Avenue: LCOR & Bovis Go for Gold

Tue

Jul

by Stephen Del Percio

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Bovis Lend Lease, which was honored by New York Construction as its Contractor of the Year in the magazine's July 2007 cover story, is currently renovating 17-story 545 Madison Avenue (at 55th Street, built in 1956) into Class A office space that will seek a LEED Gold rating under Core and Shell (“LEED-CS”). Owner LCOR engaged Bovis to gut the existing building down to its structural frame (thus qualifying the property for LEED-CS) and installing a floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall and high-performance HVAC, electrical, and mechanical systems.

Monday LEEDoff: The Beer Belly Building - JP Morgan’s Platinum HQ at Ground Zero

Mon

Jun

by Stephen Del Percio

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It’s unclear whether Steve Cuozzo’s nickname will stick, but after an announcement last week, it looks like One Bryant Park won’t stand alone as New York City’s lone LEED Platinum office tower for very long. JP Morgan Chase will relocate its corporate headquarters to Ground Zero, on the site of the former Deutsche Bank Building (which is currently in the process of being razed after suffering fatal structural damage on September 11), into a forty-two-story, 1.3 million square foot building that should be ready for occupancy sometime in 2012.

One Bryant Park Stealing Thunder From Quietly Fascinating Cross-Street Green Reno

Thu

May

by Stephen Del Percio

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On the south side of 42nd Street, across from LEED Platinum hopeful Bank of America Tower, one of Manhattan’s more unique construction projects in recent memory is very quietly taking place. At a cost of $408.9 million, the entire shell of the former Verizon Building is being replaced, effectively creating an entirely new building. The building’s marble exterior is in the process of being removed and replaced with an energy-efficient glass curtain wall. Tishman Construction is the construction manager on the project, which was designed by Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects and Gensler. (Image via SkyscraperPage Forum)

New York's Cleantechs Aren't Cleaning Up

Wed

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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According to Crain’s, the rest of the country is leaving New York State in the dust when it comes to the cleantech industry. Cleantech companies (manufacturers of any product or providers of any service furthering natural resource conservation) received $2.9 billion in venture capital in 2006, up 78% from 2005. However, from 1999 through 2005, New York State attracted only 3.45% of the total amount invested in the cleantech sector nationwide. During that period, 42 New York cleantechs raised a mere $235 million, while California saw 278 cleantech companies receive $2.7 billion in capital. These figures were released in a report entitled Cleantech: a New Engine of Economic Growth for New York State.

NYC's Green Temperature, LEED and New York Times Tower

Sat

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

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The latest issue of The Architect’s Newspaper has a fantastic feature article entitled How Green is the Big Apple? In it, Cathy Lang Ho, editor of TAN, has put together a comprehensive compilation of information about New York City-related sustainability issues. It’s a great snapshot of where green building stands in NYC - from Local Law 86, coming into effect in January- to an overview of some high-profile green projects, including One Bryant Park and the Stuyvesant Cove Environmental Center. The article is extremely well-done and definitely worth checking out- though not all of the sections are available online.

News from One Bryant Park

Tue

Mar

by Stephen Del Percio

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Bank of America signed a lease today (March 6) for an additional 522,000 square feet of ground floor and office space, including 13 full floors, at the Bank of America Tower now under construction at One Bryant Park. The new deal expands the Bank's occupancy to over three-quarters (77 percent) of the $1 billion, 51-story skyscraper, a co-development by The Durst Organization and Bank of America, up from the original 53%. "The Bank of America Tower is the first high-rise office building in the world to strive for the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design [LEED] Platinum designation," according to Jonathan Durst, Co-President of The Durst Organization. "It will use dramatically less energy, consume considerably less potable water and provide a healthy and productive environment with abundant natural light and fresh air." I'm hoping to get into the city this weekend and take some pictures of the construction site. The last time I was in the neighborhood the steel was out of the ground and it looked like the job was moving along pretty rapidly.