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On the MARC
Strong Foundation
Supports Eighth Avenue Tower
By Tom Stabile
MARC rises 432 ft. into the city skyline, with a soaring
crown accented by a flying column design.
But some of the most impressive work in the 435,000-sq.-ft.
structure at 900 Eighth Ave. took place out of sight and in
the structural underbelly of a classically compact Manhattan
property.
Beneath this 45-story giant is a muscle grid of caisson support,
concrete walls and clusters of steel bars that help the structure
straddle two subway tunnels that cross through the site.
The project schedule was tight. Excavation started in October
2002, the reinforced concrete superstructure was topped out
in September and the building is slated for full occupancy
this summer.
The project takes advantage of the promise in the Eighth
Avenue corridor, said Joseph Moinian, chairman of the Moinian
Group, the New York, N.Y.-based developer.
"When the site became available in 1999 we took the
opportunity," he added. "In addition, full-block
sites are very rare in New York City, especially an income
producing site."
The $76 million building, designed by Frank Williams and
Associates of New York, N.Y., will have 393 apartments on
37 floors; ground-floor retail; four-story, 550-car garage;
and a common floor with a health club, laundry room, child
care center and other amenities.
Jack Kestenbaum, project manager for HRH Construction of
New York, N.Y., said it took value engineering and scheduling
to keep MARC on track.
"We came up with alternatives to make sure we could
get to each stage on schedule," he added.
First came careful focus on the foundation and using solutions
designed by structural engineer Rosenwasser Grossman Consulting
and executed by foundation contractor Civetta Cousins Joint
Venture and concrete contractor Century-Maxim Construction
Corp.
Demolition of an existing municipal parking garage took place
before HRH arrived on the job. When HRH took over, work to
support the future building's load began with a caisson design.
The Civetta Cousins team began by driving thick structural
steel tubes into the bedrock on either side of the tunnels
for the B and D lines of the NYC Transit Authority, which
turn under the site. Next, workers excavated around the piles
and anchored clusters of reinforced steel bars to the rock
throughout that area. Then the entire complex was encased
in concrete.
Once Civetta Cousins completed that phase, Century-Maxim
erected giant concrete walls to support the foundation.
"The way the engineer designed it to accommodate that
was to create large structural beams, but they were huge supporting
walls that were 20 ft. or more high," said Tom Cardullo
of Century-Maxim. "They allow the foundation floor to
bridge over the subway without putting any load on the tunnel."
Even before the foundation work was complete, the HRH team
had coordinated to get the project moving onto the next phase
- locating the project crane on the southwest corner of 53rd
Street and Eighth Avenue. It also scheduled the foundation
work carefully to have the Civetta Cousins work first on the
northern portion of the site, then continue to the southern
portion while Century Maxim installed the massive concrete
girders.
That strategy allowed the team to install a ground-floor
slab on half of the 20,000-sq.-ft. floor plate so that staging
work for the superstructure erection could begin while the
rest of the foundation work continued on the southern side.
Kestenbaum said other key elements of coordinating the project
included ensuring significant shoring for perimeter walls
and the neighboring Roundabout Theatre, which also impacted
the project schedule on matinee days.
On ongoing façade work, Newtown Masonry is handling
the brick installation on upper floors, which run on masonry
piers in between floor-to-ceiling window units interrupted
only by panels covering the HVAC units.
Global of Canada made the precast concrete panels installed
over the garage.
HRH also prioritized getting the garage ready for temporary
occupancy in November by installing the hydraulic car elevators
the valet firm will use.
Kestenbaum said the team has been racing to complete enclosure
of the building before the cold weather sets in.
The building's studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments
will have several layouts. The developer took advantage of
a New York City affordable housing incentive program, including
20 percent of its units for lower- or moderate-income residents.
All units will have top-flight communications, marble bath
tiles, stone kitchen floors and countertops, and high-end
kitchen appliances.
The cherry on top is the crown design, said Anthony Rafaniello
Sr., HRH project superintendent.
"It's very elaborate structurally, concrete-wise,"
he added. "From the roof it goes up 60 ft.".
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