Office Tower

New Building Adds to Long Island City Skyline

by Diane Greer

From the upper floors of Court Square Place, spectacular views extend from the Bronx to Brooklyn with the entire Manhattan skyline in between.

When completed in November, the 16-story, 270,000-sq.-ft. office tower in the Long Island City district of Queens will house the headquarters of the United Nations Federal Credit Union. The institution will occupy approximately half of the building and lease the remainder, an arrangement similar to the tower that the New York Times Co. is building on Eighth Avenue in a higher-profile project in Manhattan.

The new $65 million facility will allow the credit union to consolidate its rapidly growing operations, which are currently scattered around Midtown Manhattan. The core and shell work should be done by next month, followed by work on tenant spaces.

"Over the past 10 years, we have been experiencing double-digit growth in membership, assets, and employees," said John Lewis, the credit union's vice president and general counsel.

advertisement

The institution selected Long Island City for its new home after a review process that included consideration of sites in Jersey City, Westchester County, and the Bronx. Lower costs, proximity to Midtown, and commuting times for its employees swung the decision in favor of the site in the neighborhood near the East River, Lewis added.

Located at 44th Road and 24th Street, the new building is within a 37-block area rezoned by New York City in 2001 to spur commercial and residential development. Growth in the district is being aided by $30 million in municipal infrastructure improvements, along with Relocation Employment Assistance Program incentives from the New York City Department of Finance.

The REAP benefits will offer prospective commercial tenants savings of $15 per sq. ft. per year over base lease rates in the Long Island City area. As a result of the incentive, market rates for office space in the mid $40-per-sq.-ft. range fall to about $25 per sq. ft.

Such lease rates will attract tenants looking for a lower-cost alternative to Midtown, said Greg Smith of New York-based JRT Realty Group, which handles strategic planning and corporate real estate portfolio management.

Early Delays, Then Back on Track

The construction effort, which began last January, had a few early hiccups. Test borings during preconstruction identified groundwater 15 ft. below grade at the site, said Bob Accardi, senior vice president at Tishman Construction of New York, which led the building team.

"We decided that the basement was going to be as deep as the top of the water," he added. "We were fortunate that we did not have to dewater the site. It was a pretty wet site."

By the time the team completed the foundation in July, minor setbacks had put the project two months behind schedule. One problem was the need to remediate contaminated soil uncovered during demolition of an 80-year-old, two-story warehouse that formerly occupied the site. Then a summertime strike by steelworkers pushed the project back another three weeks, the credit union's Lewis said.

The project got back on schedule, however, with project team members crediting exceptionally good weather, the efforts of the steel and erecting contractors, and good planning for the recouped time.

"Every other day has been just gorgeous," said Charles Bellotti, director of construction for Tishman.

The end result was fast progress, added Joe Capone, Tishman's project director.

"In just 12 months, we demo-ed a building, came out of the ground, and topped out," he said.

The building, which sits upon 233 pilings, has a structural steel frame with concrete floors poured on metal decks. It will have a varied façade, with a glass curtain wall featuring floor-to-ceiling windows on the west and south sides. A frit pattern baked onto the glass will serve as a design element, hide the spandrels, and act as a shading mechanism.

HLW International of New York, the project's architect, incorporated a graceful curve into the front of the building facing Manhattan, said Walter Zupancich, the firm's managing partner.

"We bowed the building to open up views to Manhattan and give it greater exposure north to south," he added.

The curve also makes the narrow street running in front of the building feel wider.

The structure's massing and window locations were dictated by the expected construction of buildings to the north and east sides. On these two sides, the building abuts the property line and is clad in granite curtain wall. The building core - including bathrooms, elevators, emergency stairs, and all electrical boxes - is offset to the windowless end of the facility.

Within the building, enclosed offices are placed off the perimeter along the core, with glass walls on their fronts to let in light. This configuration allows for the placement of cubicles and workstations along the windows, giving their occupants views and natural light.

At the southwest corner, the design eliminates columns to create an open vista. Instead of support columns, the corner uses a cantilevering system to provide unobstructed views.

The ground floor of the facility will house a bank for credit union members, 175-seat cafeteria, loading dock, and mailroom. Other building amenities include a fitness room and training center.

In addition, a unique cable-stayed glass canopy will grace the entrance of the two-story lobby, Tishman's Accardi said.

"The cables will be attached to large anchors that go down through the slab and into concrete," he added. "When tensioned, the cables support the glass canopy."

Floors in the structure were built to handle 100-lb.-per-sq.-ft. loads, exceeding the 50-lb.-per-sq.-ft. level required in the New York City building code, because the credit union wanted to allow itself and its tenants to place heavier file furniture and computer equipment anywhere on a floor without having to reinforce those areas. There are also sections built to handle 200 lb. per sq. ft that would be able to house high-density file storage units and backup power supply systems.

The credit union also commissioned a security assessment early on. The analysis called for hardening the structure to U.S. General Services Administration standards by reinforcing columns, stairs, and areas such as the mailroom.

While the credit union is not seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, largely citing a desire to avoid the paperwork and cost of the U.S. Green Building Council program, the project team nevertheless integrated energy-efficient features and sustainable-design elements into the facility.

For example, many materials come from recycled or renewable materials. The team also made HVAC, pumps, motors, and lighting systems as energy efficient as possible.