42nd Street and Times Square seem an unlikely place for green buildings, but the new Bank of America Tower will rise next door to the world’s first green skyscraper, 4 Times Square.
The Bank of America (BAC) and Durst Organization are co-developing a 2.1 million-square-foot tower at One Bryant Park on West 42nd Street. BAC will be the tower’s primary tenant, occupying about half the building for its New York headquarters.
The tower is expected to create thousands of new construction-related jobs in midtown and expand the boundaries of green development. “More than 500 professionals and staff from 70 consulting and professional firms and five law firms have been going full speed on this project for many months, working 60-hour weeks in some cases,” Douglas Durst noted. The architectural firm of Cook + Fox designed One Bryant Park.
The 51-story skyscraper will go beyond the green construction features of 4 Times Square, including a variety of leading-edge techniques, from water conservation using rain runoff and gray water recycling, to wind turbines and co-generation of power and cooling.
Demolition of the 22-story building presently on the site is expected to begin in spring 2004. Bank of America will move in early in 2008 to begin its 20-year lease.
The Durst Organization is one of New York’s oldest and largest privately owned real estate firms, with an office building portfolio comprising more than 6.5 million square feet, excluding One Bryant Park. The company is well-known in New York for its innovative, environmentally-sensitive approach to building.
Durst paid $12.5 million for the 2,200 square-foot land parcel – one of the highest land prices ever paid for a development, approximately $5,000 a square foot. The project culminates a nearly 40-year campaign by the Durst family to develop the block, one of Manhattan’s few prime undeveloped sites, and the last remnant of the Midtown eyesore this area used to be with a grungy array of porn venues and peep shows.
The Bank of America Tower will be the area’s tallest building and will be a recognizable new feature of the Manhattan skyline. The building will attract the attention of the general public, bringing green construction as well as BAC – the 6th most profitable company in the US and also known as an environmental leader – even more into the limelight.
The Tower is being built with a $650 million low-interest Liberty Bond from the city and state. It is being built under under market conditions similar to the era when the Cond Nast building (4 Times Square ) rose, with a glut of empty commercial real estate. “As they did with the Cond Nast Building in the mid-90’s, the Dursts will look to be a first-market mover and trendsetter with this building,” said Ross Moskowitz, a real estate lawyer at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.
Andrew M. Alper, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, spoke of the project’s use of Liberty Bonds. “By assisting Bank of America in consolidating its New York City-based employees and creating a global securities trading headquarters in midtown, we help secure the City’s position as the premier location for the financial services industry,” Mr. Alper added. “This project will have far-reaching beneficial effects for all of New York City.”
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