300 Madison Ave.

Traffic can make a construction job more complicated than it needs to be. The team of 300 Madison Ave. had to deal with not just pedestrian and vehicular traffic, but rail traffic as well.

The project team erected a 35-story, 1,080,000-sq.-ft. office tower with ground-floor retail and two below-grade concourse levels for office and support functions to serve as the U.S. headquarters for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce World Markets.

Two major subway lines, the shuttle between Times Square and Grand Central and the No. 7 train, run just below the north end of the site, next to two side elevations of the lower floors of the building. The $800 million project, which also includes the refurbishment of the subway station entrance at 42nd & Madison, sits on Madison, between 41st and 42nd streets.

Because of the challenge presented by the railways, the foundation - conventional spread footings bearing on bedrock - was built within just eight months using various techniques to separate the earth from the existing walls of the subway tunnels. The construction was phased in four sections within the one-acre site to keep to the foundation schedule so that the structural steel could be put in place on time.

The structural steel, concrete, fireproofing and aluminum curtain wall were all completed within nine months.

The project broke ground in June 2001 and was fast-tracked to be completed within 26 months. Drawings and designs for the glass and granite structure were being issued as construction began.

At the same time, logistics of each phase were altered to meet the needs of the public and city traffic. Structural requirements were even changing once construction started - after Sept. 11, the construction team added approximately $4 million to the construction costs in order to improve the lower columns, fireproofing and structural connections.

The jury said the project achieved its goals for timely completion of a terrific structure in a tough location. If the structure and teamwork were not in place on the job, it would have been difficult to complete.

Indeed, it was not "completed" all at one time. The schedule was set so that blocks of floors were turned over to CIBC and the other tenants as they were completed. To do so, the project team used several designated temporary roofs and stair enclosures in addition to a number of programs to prevent the growth of mold and damage to the finished areas.