TIME EQUITIES.

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TIME EQUITIES INC. – 50 WEST STREET

Time Equities Inc. will complete 50 West
Street in the first quarter of 2012, it says.

Insurmountable Quality
New York developer Time Equities Inc. is constructing Battery Park City’s 50 West Street, which is expected
to become one of the tallest mixed-use projects in Manhattan.

N ew York City developer Time Equities Inc. has found

success in the real estate industry for more than 40
years because it stays off the beaten path, according
to Director of Project Management Dermot Johnson. This is
evident in the company’s newest endeavor, 50 West Street, a
$600 million mixed-use development currently under way in
the Battery Park City district of Manhattan.
The slender, transparent structure was designed by Helmut
Jahn of Chicago-based Murphy Jahn Architects in conjunction
with New York City architect of record, Gruzen Samton.
When completed in the first quarter of 2012, it will rise
to approximately 730 feet, making it one of the tallest mixed-
use projects in the city.
Time Equities Inc. –
50 West Street
www.timeequities.com A Good Idea
Budget: $580 million Erecting a tall structure with a small foot-
HQ: New York, N.Y.
Peak employees: 500 print will prove challenging for the con-
Service: Developer struction team, especially in Manhattan’s
Dermot Johnson: “We work infamously tight quarters, Johnson admits.
with our consultants to ensure we
do everything in our power to So far, the 50 West Street crew has complet-
achieve LEED gold status.” ed demolition of three existing buildings
on location and is currently performing caisson installa-
tion, Johnson says.
The project’s general contractor, New York-based HRH
Construction, is opting for a soldier-piling and wood-lag-
ging foundation system, Project Manager Bill Grutta told
New York Construction magazine.
This will allow the company to install caissons without
prompting a need for deep excavation on site. Also, a wood-
lagging foundation system can be completed quicker than a
bathtub slurry wall foundation, which is said to be the com-
mon approach for construction teams working in a district
notorious for its high water table.
Cantilevered Beauty
Although 50 West Street is still at the foundation stages,
HRH Construction is preparing to erect a 15-story can-
tilever, which, Johnson says, will create an attractive exteri-
or facade.
“That cantilever means we’ll have curved or angular
columns, which will allow the building to have a curved,
cantilever belly,” he describes. “What that does is open up

232 ■ WWW.CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM ■ FEBRUARY 2009