Window Shopping in a
Construction Site
Structure Tone provided preconstruction and construction phase services for the Manhattan Mall. This was a 250,000sf, five-floor project to reposition the Manhattan Mall as a first class retail destination by improving the storefronts and circulation areas. In addition, Structure Tone simultaneously built a new three-story JC Penney within the Mall. Working in a fully operational, occupied NYC mall required complex and detailed plans so that the safety of the public was protected at all times. Phasing and logistics were essential for this project. Construction areas in the mall were fluid in each phase, so protection and egress plans among all areas were carefully coordinated.
Infrastructure Upgrades
The primary goal was to add retail space for tenants by decreasing the overall size of the interior atrium. To accomplish this, entrances to the building and vertical transportation were changed and structural and core and shell infrastructure were refurbished and replaced. Structural framing was required for 12 escalators and one elevator for the mall and JC Penney. In addition, the northeast and southeast entrances were closed to accommodate new curtainwall and to maximize square footage for rental use.
The project required coordination with the MTA and PATH. Authorization was required to install scaffolding over these properties’ escalators in order to remove the existing glass ceiling and build up the front wall to the underside of the new ceiling.
