Lincoln Center Expansion Takes Shape

Construction begins on the major arts complex redevelopment.
Also, Adelphi starts an expansion in Garden City.

Lincoln Center Project Begins

A $650 million redevelopment program broke ground at Lincoln Center in Manhattan this spring in an effort to make the complex into a more accessible and interactive venue. The major focus of the first phase of work at the arts center is on West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and FXFowle, which are both based in New York, and led by New York's Turner Construction as construction manager, the first stage calls for:

• adding several transparent street-level façades

• installing a footbridge in place of the Paul Milstein Plaza

• expanding and renovating Alice Tully Hall, the Julliard School, and the American Ballet rehearsal studios, and

• eliminating one car lane on 65th Street in order to widen the sidewalks.

Lincoln Center has raised $339 million for the project, including more than $200 million in private gifts. Additionally, the New York City government has committed up to $90 million for the 65th Street effort, which is slated for completion in the fall of 2009.

A second stage of redevelopment - approved by Lincoln Center's 12 resident arts organizations in March - will focus on Josie Robertson Plaza at Columbus Avenue between 62nd and 65th Streets, as well as Lincoln Center's primary Columbus Avenue entrance. Dubbed the "Promenade" project, it has a preliminary budget of $160 million and will feature construction of a new grand staircase, an underground passage for vehicles and pedestrians, and major technical and aesthetic revisions to the plaza's central fountain.

The design team also includes the New York office of London-based Arup and three other New York-based firms - Tillotson Design Associates, Mathews Neilsen, and 2 x 4.

Lincoln Center also recently came to an agreement with the owners of the nearby Harmony Atrium about a prospective redevelopment of the privately owned 6,900-sq.-ft. performance space. The owners chose Morphosis of Santa Monica, Calif., and New York-based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects as the designer for the space, which would open in 2008.

Adelphi University Starts Expansion

Construction began this spring on a $94 million expansion to the campus of Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.

The project involves construction of a new 76,000-sq.-ft., three-court sports complex and outdoor stadium, a 53,000-sq.-ft. performing arts center, and an 8,100-sq.-ft. early learning center. In addition, the project team will renovate other campus buildings, relocate and add lighting to the university's existing sports field, and install a parking garage below the field.

Cannon Design of Grand Island, N.Y., and Boston's Brown Sardina are serving as joint-venture architect and Damon G. Douglas Co. of Cranford, N.J., is construction manager on the job, slated for completion in 2008.

Green Library Wraps Up in Ossining

Construction is slated for completion next month on a new public library in Ossining, N.Y.

The 45,000-sq.-ft., three-story building designed by New York's Beatty Harvey Associates is going up in the parking area of the old library, which will be demolished once the new structure is completed. The new facility, featuring a brick façade and a metal roof, will accommodate 175,000 books, 25,000 audio-visual items, 50 computer stations, a 250-seat performance space, exhibit areas, reading rooms, and a children's section.

The project incorporates several green elements, including the recycling of 92 percent of demolition debris, a curtain wall system that allows the building to rely on natural light for 70 percent of its illumination needs, drought->> resistant landscaping, materials made within 500 mi. of the site, and a geothermal cooling and heating system that is expected to pay for itself within three years in saved energy costs.

JMOA Engineering of Pleasantville, N.Y., is managing construction on the $15.8 million project, which started in May 2005.

9-11 Memorial Coming to Bayonne

A new memorial to the victims of the attacks of Sept.11, 2001, is scheduled for completion next month in Harbor View Park in Bayonne, N.J.

The 100-ft.-tall Monument to the Struggle Against World Terrorism, a gift from the artist Zurab Tseretelli and the people of Russia, will have a 4-ton, chrome-covered "tear of grief" hanging from a 120-ton bronze-clad structure. It will have names of the victims inscribed on black granite panels enveloping its base.

MAST Construction of Little Falls, N.J., is managing construction of the supporting base and monument, which is located on the tip of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, on a direct axis line with the World Trade Center site in New York.

Condo on Central Park North

Work started in May on a new high-rise condominium on Central Park North in Manhattan.

The 19-story, 111 Central Park North, developed by New York's Athena Group, will feature 47 units, each offering views of Central Park. They range in size from two-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom penthouses. The apartments will offer floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies. The developer refused to disclose the cost of the project or the pricing of the units.

Designed by New York's Hillier Architects, with SLCE Architects of New York serving as architect of record, the building will include a public wrap-around garden terrace, a fitness center, underground private parking, 9,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and a first-floor public plaza with access to the 2 and 3 subway lines.

Bovis Lend Lease is construction manager on the project, which is scheduled for completion next summer.

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