Project Update: Queens' Billie Jean King Tennis Center to Name CM Soon
The U.S. Tennis Association is expected to name the construction manager for its $550-million-plus Billie Jean King National Tennis Center project in Queens as early as the second week of July, say sources close to the project.
The three-phase project includes building a $150-million, Rossetti-designed retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium as well as two new stadiums on the 46.5-acre site. Rossetti is the original stadium’s architect.
Phase one began in April and is slated for completion in August 2016, in time for that year’s U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
In this phase, crews led by design-build contractor Hunt Construction are now working on the eight foundations that will support the 175-ft-high, fabric-covered roof, says Tom Jaske, Faithful + Gould senior vice president and project executive. His firm won a five-year project management contract for the entire site last October.
"Most retractable roofs are built with the stadium from the get-go," he says. "But this is a separate structure poised over the existing stadium." The roof includes two sets of large trusses spanning over the stadium. The trusses intersect with each other to form a grid that opens.
Phase one also includes a chiller plant, electrical substation and other infrastructure upgrades, which are set to begin this fall. Completion is targeted for August 2016.
The next two phases include demolishing and replacing the Louis Armstrong Stadium and its attached grandstands. The new stadium and grandstand will be separate structures.
"Armstrong will be built in the footprint of the existing stadium but will be bigger, about 15,000 seats," as opposed to the roughly 11,000-seat existing structure, Jaske says.
The design contract for the Armstrong stadium, the final phase of the project, is expected to be awarded by year-end with construction beginning in the fall of 2016 and completion in August 2018.
