The Pennsylvania Convention Center, which opened in 1993 in the heart of City Center Philadelphia, lived up to its promise of attracting more convention business to the city and prompting economic growth. The additional convention business in turn prompted hotel construction and economic development projects in the surrounding region and made the area surrounding the Pennsylvania Convention Center its own activity hub. However, demand soon outgrew the convention space in the 1.3 million-sq-ft facility, and city officials wanted that convention center hub to connect to the rest of the city. So in 2008, the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority undertook an
After years of a development boom that brought billions of dollars in work to the region, the economic downturn hit hard in Philadelphia and eastern Pennsylvania. The recession, coupled with limited access to financing, all but dried up opportunities in 2009. Even the area�s colleges, universities and health-care facilities, which typically buzz with activity, dulled to a low hum. Tough times have continued through 2010, although some see a glimmer of hope on the horizon. �The best I can say is that there�s a lot more chatter in the industry today than last year,� says Greg Stewart, executive vice president
PROJECT COST: $220 Million Six new buildings are under construction on the largest remaining vacant parcel of land in the Melrose Commons Urban renewal area of the South Bronx. The $220 million, 641-unit St. Ann's Terrance mixed-income residential development broke ground last summer and includes 50,000 sq ft of retail space and parking for about 350 vehicles under several of the buildings. St. Ann's Terrace Related Links: Top Projects 2009 "The size of the project and the variety of different of programs-commercial, low income, middle income and community spaces in more than a normal size of a city block-makes for
PROJECT COST: $175 Million The federal stimulus funds made available by the Obama administration for tri-state area projects have had a spotty history thus far, but at least one project has secured the funding to proceed. Photo courtesy of Conti Construction St. George Ferry Terminal Related Links: Top Projects 2009 The $175 million ramp work at the St. George Ferry terminal was the biggest stimulus project in the city when it went forward last July, and for due reason: the terminal is used by 70,000 passenger every day, and, with 23 of State Island's bus lines and the Staten Island
PROJECT COST: $119 million Since the long steep plunge of 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been confidently on the rise for over a year, gaining more than 60 percent since its lows. The top banks in trouble just two years ago are this year posting record profits. To celebrate this financial exuberance, enter the Setai: a 31-story luxury condominium tower complete with lavish spa, optional butler and maid service, and a Michelin-rated restaurant inside a former office building at 40 Broad Street. Photo by Peter Rymwid The Setai Related Links: Top Projects 2009 "It's 100 steps to the
PROJECT COST: $156 Million Starting construction on a New York residential tower in the middle of 2008 has resulted in a slew of skeletons, foreclosures, and general panic across the condo industry. But at least one team has been able to proceed-cautiously, with major cost-cutting, but retaining the original design's major aesthetic attributes. Tower 111 Related Links: Top Projects 2009 Designed by New York architect Costas Kondylis, Tower 111 will rise 48 stories at 32nd Street and 6th Avenue when completed next Jun, and, in addition to the to the rentals in a tower that features several setbacks, will include
PROJECT COST: $8.7 Billion Construction began on the $8.7 billion, 9-mi Access to the Region's Core Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel in June. Two new, twin tunnels will enable NJ TRANSIT to more than double service capacity to Midtown Manhattan's Penn Station from New Jersey. Photo: courtesy NJ transit Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel Related Links: Top Projects 2009 "The current tunnels are 100 years old this year and are in fine shape and served us well, but the ridership demand has grown to the point there are bottlenecks," says Paul L. Wyckoff, spokesperson for Access to the Region's Core, a project of NJ
PROJECT COST: $103,748,350 STV will provide full architectural-engineering design services for the design/build of the new United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) campus at West Point, NY. J. Kokolakis Contracting, the build partner, contracted with the United States Army Corps of Engineers for the $103 million project. Illustrator: sneary architectural illustration U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School Related Links: Top Projects 2009 The 256,000-sf campus will encompass 20 acres and include student barracks, academic and administrative spaces, a full-service dining facility, parking areas, and state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor athletic facilities. The existing prep school in Fort Monmouth, NJ, is being
PROJECT COST: $650 Million When completed in March 2014, the $650 million Weill Cornell Medical Research Building at East 69th Street and York Avenue will double research space at the Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC). Rendering by Red Square, courtesy of Polshek Partnership Architects Weill Cornell Medical Research Building Related Links: Top Projects 2009 The 18-story building, which includes 13 floors of laboratories, 3 academic floors, and 2 stories of support space, is intended to become the epicenter of experimental research at the college. Polshek Partnership designed the 455,000-sq.-ft. structure with an open and adaptable floor plan to facilitate collaboration
PROJECT COST: $133 million From a construction perspective, Suffolk County's newest correctional facility is no different than any other special-use building, according to E.F. Howell Co. project manager Joe Sellers. Rendering courtesy of Wiedersum Associates Architects Yaphank Correctional Facility Related Links: Top Projects 2009 "It's like any project that has specialty requirements," he says. "You find out what the client needs, and you give it to him." But considering the size, scope, and purpose of the 318,000 sq ft facility, there's little doubt that some of these requirements are rather exceptional. Under construction adjacent to an existing correctional facility, the
RSS