Two construction challenges distinguish projects in dense urban areas from those in the wide-open spaces of the suburbs. The first is the formidable task of building in tight, narrow lots. Second is designing construction plans that permit building around occupied space. In heavily congested New York, one of the nation's largest and densest cities, overcoming these challenges takes on a unique dimension.
Urban construction specialists possess the unique set of skills and expertise that allow high-rise residential, commercial and institutional construction to fit seamlessly into the urban fabric without disrupting activity. Further, builders who are experienced at building within such tight confines are also equipped to tackle suburban projects where site restrictions may pose similar challenges.
HRH Construction is an urban construction specialist that has been building on the most difficult sites for more than 75 years. Over the past several decades, the firm has been involved with the building of some of New York's most recognizable landmarks, such as the Jacob K. Javits Center, the renovation of Madison Square Garden and the conversion of the Gulf & Western office building into Trump International Hotel and Tower.
HRH's commanding knowledge of urban construction sites is also on view in several of the firm's recent projects, including The Capri at 235 East 55th St. The company built this 170,000-SF, 46-story flex dormitory residential building for Manhattan Marymount College. The 'building on top of a building' design dedicated the first 31 floors to the college, with 120 dorm rooms, five lecture rooms totaling 1,210 SF, three student lounges totaling 1,800 SF, and an 800-SF health club. The top 15 floors of the tower comprise 42 terraced luxury rental apartments and penthouses developed and owned by Bhatia Development.
The Capri offered relatively commonplace challenges, such as constructing separate entrances, lobbies and elevators to serve each of the uses. It also presented some extraordinary ones, due to the restrained lot it sits on, just 50 feet in width and 100 feet deep, and bordered by two office buildings and an active parking garage.
HRH had little room to maneuver equipment and personnel. Since it is illegal to swing a crane over existing buildings, the team implemented a tower crane with an unusually small tail swing to comply with code. Further, because of the site's active surroundings and limited building frontage, project managers had to stagger the timing of deliveries to prevent street congestion.
Also in Midtown, HRH is building The Alex, a 32-story luxury residential hotel at 205-209 East 45'' Street. The building is located on an unusually narrow site, mid-block between Second and Third Avenues. Here again, HRH has little room to operate cranes and other heavy equipment, creating a unique logistical situation.
As a result, HRH's construction strategy eliminated use of a mason's hoist, normally standard, in favor of a dual rack-and-pinion hoist that can be utilized for multiple applications. The mason's hoist is a material-only car that allows the contractor to bring the brick and block to each floor, but requires a significant amount of clearance to operate. The dual rack and pinion hoist, on the other hand, is configured with two cars running on a single vertical tower. This allows for loading of material or personnel with either car and is ideal for sites where space is at a premium.
HRH's involvement with the Collegiate School's expansion on the Upper West Side would prove to be a similarly formidable task. Building in and around a school environment presents its own set of challenges. When a growing student population forced the Collegiate School to expand, the directors of the oldest independent school in the United States had few options for growth in their crowded neighborhood.
To solve the problem, HRH helped design a plan for construction of a six-story steel-framed structure that would be slipped into a 15-foot-wide gap between two existing school buildings on West 78th Street. The new structure added a valuable 50,000 SF of space. Simultaneous renovations to both adjacent buildings helped Collegiate transform itself for a new era of education. HRH managed to complete the work with minimal disruption to the school community, despite classes being in session.
The delicacies of working in and around a functioning health care facility - potential power loss, noise considerations, sanitation concerns - create a critical need for expertise such as HRH has demonstrated. Patients' lives depend on the smooth operation of the hospital. A firm that
is building in and around a medical facility has to be constantly mindful of any disturbances that could turn tragic. Unlike other projects, extra precautions have to be taken to minimize the side effects of construction that on other sites are merely inconveniences.
When the Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center, one of the world's premier cancer treatment hospitals, sought to expand its onsite surgical capacity, HRH was called in to build a five-story 'infill' addition, over a five-story portion of the MSKCC's existing main facility. The addition, which will house state-of-the-art operating rooms, laboratories and facilities for the hospital's pathology and pediatric units, is essentially a free-standing shell over a part of the hospital that rests on six 'super-columns.' These double-strength support columns extend five stories to the ground, two stories below grade to a sub-basement, and are then anchored further down into bedrock.
This project represents another 'building on top of a building' challenge, and is further complicated by the close proximity of a 21-story hospital wing, and two adjacent 10-and 14-story buildings, that ring the site like a horseshoe. HRH designed a system that used an outside hoist but interior elevator to shuttle personnel and supplies and conserve. space, a decision that allowed the team to build under tight exterior constraints. Further, thanks to a construction plan that relies heavily on night and weekend work, no existing hospital functions or operations will be interrupted during the entire complex construction process.
HRH's extensive work in congested urban areas helped prepare the firm for a major challenge in downtown White Plains, New York. Located on a 2.6-acre site on Main Street, Bank Street Commons is one of the largest projects in Westchester County's recent history. It comprises 500 luxury apartments in two 20-plus-story towers, and will add 540,000 SF of residential space to the tight White Plains market.
The large size of the Bank Street site affords HRH the rare luxury of an open expanse of space in which to work. However, the property abuts the city's Metro North Railroad tracks, an enormous obstacle that complicated the logistic plan, requiring special steps to protect the railway as well as workers, passersby and equipment.
The difficult building situation was one of the reasons that the site languished undeveloped for many years before HRH took it over. In those years of inactivity, the site earned for itself the dubious nickname of 'The Hole in the Ground.' When developer LCOR sought a construction firm to tackle the difficult site, HRH's success in a range of difficult sites made the firm a natural choice.
Site restrictions could have stalled several of HRH's projects. Instead, by designing and implementing construction plans that solve the problems posed by a site's constraints, HRH has managed to turn some of the most challenging building sites into successful realities.
