Project of the Year - Adaptive Reuse

Towers at 455 Central Park West

The building at 455 Central Park West - once an eyesore at 105th Street in Manhattan - has become an attractive addition to an upscale neighborhood.

The $106.9 million project involved construction of a new 26-story high-rise luxury condominium building with 81 units and the restoration of a four-story, chateau-style landmarked structure with 17 units. The renovated landmarked portion of the property offers family-sized residences that feature circular living rooms, bedroom suites, vaulted ceilings, and oversized gothic windows.

"The project team took a derelict, old building that had been vacant for 20 years and gave it a massive rehabilitation and new use," said one judge.

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John Jacob Astor III originally built the landmark in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. In the 1950s, it became the Towers Nursing Home, which later closed. Since the mid-1980s, the property changed ownership several times, attracting several development proposals. None took hold until construction on the new condominium project began in December 2002.

Restoring the older structure was a big job for the construction team, since the landmark face is the only remaining feature after the team gutted the interiors. A restoration subcontractor repaired the historic façade by repointing, replicating, and restoring where necessary - a task that involved casting new brownstone elements to repair damage sustained over the years. That took place while other superstructure work was ongoing, requiring the team to temporarily brace the façade with steel beams while pouring the new concrete floors and columns in place.

After pouring the concrete floors, the project team began building a new roof, replicating features of the historic structure. The work included capping off the turret towers with new cone structures and constructing mansard roofs. The primary materials for these jobs were structural steel, light-gauge metal, and plywood sheathing. The finished product showcases natural Vermont slate, lead-coated copper gutters, dormers, and custom finials.

The roof construction was a distinct challenge. The project team designed and installed the new light-gauge truss gable roof system while maintaining and restoring the existing wood cathedral ceiling below it. Design and installation of the new light-gauge cones above the landmarked turrets required a tremendous amount of coordination between the carpenter, slate roof installer, skylight installer, and several other trades. Similarly, design and modification to existing cast-iron cones on two of the four turrets required careful coordination to create new openings for 11-ft.-long and 8-ft.-wide skylights.

Another challenge was designing and installing a new boiler flue system within the existing brick chimney in another turret. That task required the subcontractor to install a 90-ft. section of flue into the existing chimney, along with modifications at the chimney's top to include draft inducer fans that had to be hidden from view.

At the same time the project team was renovating the landmarked structure, it was building a new mid-rise luxury tower in close proximity. This required extensive planning and coordination.

For example, the team poured the superstructure for both the tower and landmarked portion at the same time. In addition, the team had to extend connections to major mechanical elements such as boilers and domestic hot water heaters, which are in the landmarked building's cellar but serve both buildings.

The two-structure assignment translated into a lot of sitework as well. The highlights included construction of a central courtyard between the buildings, a complete site drainage system, a cobblestone circular driveway, and bluestone paving.

The project team also paid special attention to details of public spaces within the new building. Many of those lobbies and corridors feature curved GFRC ceiling systems and vault groin ceilings - including design elements intended to match the existing landmarked building.

Accordingly, the lobbies and apartment corridors feature custom wood arched portal passageways with dark anodized bronze bass. The package room in the main lobby is fully wrapped in frosted glass and decorative bronze panels. Capping the detail throughout the building is how elements like the terrazzo flooring pavers, window grilles, exterior railings, package room, and elevators all repeat the original rosette design found in the landmarked structure's railing.