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A Well-Rounded Square
Turning a Landmark
Structure into a Residential Gem
By Tom Stabile
A developer doesn't often get to play with a whole city block
in Manhattan.
That's what J.D. Carlisle Development Corp. got to do when
it bought the Yellow Freight Trucking Co. property bounded
by West, Morton, Washington and Leroy streets in the West
Village.
And the firm thought big, creating the $200 million Morton
Square.
The developer chose to match the low-rise residential heights
to the north and east by constructing six townhouses along
Morton and a seven-story rental building wrapping around Washington.
It built a 14-story luxury condominium along the south and
west, fronting low-rise industrial on Leroy and the busy West
Street corridor along the Hudson River.
"We wanted to have a unit mix that made sense, but also
fit in with the neighborhood," said Jules Demchick, president
of J.D. Carlisle. He added that the firm had to overcome a
lawsuit by some neighbors challenging the variance to construct
on property zoned for manufacturing purposes. The firm and
its investment partner prevailed, and construction began in
July 2002.
The three adjoining-yet-distinct structures form a rectangle:
six three-story townhouses with three floors of loft units
above them, 129 units in the 14-story L-shaped mid-rise and
125 units of rental apartments above 8,000 sq. ft. of retail
space. Those three structures frame a landscaped 16,000-sq.-ft.
viewing garden above a two-story garage.
Project architect Costas Kondylis and Associates anchored
the design team, along with Steve Rockmore as unit layout
consultant, Philip Koether Architects on interior design of
public areas and Wolfgang Oehme James Van Sweden on landscaping.
The development includes 19,000 sq. ft. of landscaping overall,
luxury amenities such as semiprivate elevator cores serving
the townhouses and mid-rise, and significant artistic contributions
from renowned glass sculptor Thomas Patti.
"We wanted to make this as special as we could,"
Demchick said. "This is the real thing."
The developer entrusted the job to its sister firm, M.D.
Carlisle Construction Corp., which as construction manager
plans to deliver the rentals in March, the townhouses in the
spring and the mid-rise in the fall.
Led onsite by project manager Gary Koehnken, the M.D. Carlisle
team focused heavily on preplanning and monitoring the contract
details to the letter. Koehnken said that strategy has greatly
smoothed execution on a job using separate work crews -- one
for the condos and townhouses and the other for the rental
portion.
"We spend an inordinate amount of time detailing the
scope of work for each contractor," he added. "It
avoids downtime, disputes and most change orders."
Koehnken said another advantage is having "an unwavering
cash flow." Demchick said the project has proceeded without
a construction loan, with the partners - and significant presales
- providing the funding.
"Contractors need to know they will be paid regularly
every month," Koehnken said
Another strategy has been ordering labor and materials far
in advance, and even contacting Con Edison a year ahead of
time for power connections.
Coordination also helped the project team manage the significant
foundation work. Contractors on that job included Rosenwasser/Grossman
as structural engineer, I.M. Robbins Mechanical Engineers
and Meuser Rutledge Consulting Engineers.
Meuser Rutledge's work involved boring 94 ft. to the bedrock
every 25 sq. ft. to locate utilities, tanks or other obstacles.
Using that data, the team assembled a foundation design using
tip-bearing, epoxy-coated piles for the taller structure and
tapered wooden friction piles for the lighter lower-rise buildings.
Upon completing the foundation in December 2002, Century-Maxim
Construction Corp. began setting the reinforced concrete superstructure.
"We had to use two cranes to serve the job, because
the square footage of the site was so large," said Tom
Cardullo of Century-Maxim. "It doesn't happen that often
in Manhattan."
This winter, workers will attach the 7-in.-thick "grandly
rusticated" precast concrete panels with limestone finish,
creating arched openings and aligning them with window elements.
While the rental building's panels have window frames for
the studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, the mid-rise
tower has panels only over the slab and columns, with floor-to-ceiling
windows otherwise.
The project team installed numerous high-end amenities in
the luxury residences, such as high-speed telecom cabling
and room-specific HVAC units, which required extensive piping.
Other features include a health club, bicycle storage room,
column-free living spaces in the 12 lofts and three-story
grand staircases in the townhouses. A good decision-making
framework has helped kept the job on pace, Koehnken said.
"We have a readily accessible investment group that
can make marketing decisions on finishes, levels of quality,
etc., on a daily basis, instead of by committee every other
week," he added. "That saves time and money."
Among the most striking finishes is the museum-quality glass
installation designed by glass sculptor Patti. It captures
light through a 20-ft. skylight with a prism-like effect on
the lobby flooring, which is 4,000-year-old Silk Road hand-sawn
limestone acquired from China.
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