Spec $1.1B-Tower's Concrete Core Tops Out

[IMGCAP(1)] NEW YORK CITY-Parsippany, NJ-based SJP Properties has revealed that the 600-foot high concrete core at 11 Times Square, the 1.1-million-sf commercial and retail tower, is topped out and completed ahead of schedule. A company spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com that construction remains on schedule to be completed for tenant occupancy in 2010.

The company spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com that tenant interest remains strong; however she could not provide further information as far as specific plans for the tenant roster for the building, which is said to be the largest speculative development under construction in midtown Manhattan. “The next milestone for the building will be the steel topping out, expected in early November,” she explains.

[IMGCAP(2)]Construction of the concrete core, which serves as the lateral load-resisting frame of the structure, began in November of 2007. The core is being built ahead of the steel framing that it will adjoin and according to a company release, 11 Times Square is the first building in New York City with the concrete core to be completed before the steel frame. The 7,000 tons of structural steel that were delivered in early April are also rising on the site and the structure is completed on the north and south sides of the tower up to the 36th floor.

“We are very pleased at how quickly and efficiently the concrete core at 11 Times Square has risen,” says SJP CFO David Welch, in a prepared statement. “The concrete core structure is one of the most defining features of this building, adding safety and security to the entire structure and providing tenants with numerous benefits that aren’t readily observed.” According to the statement, the concrete core enhances the tower’s efficiency by eliminating the need for a multitude of columns. “The strength of the core allows for the construction of floors with fewer interior columns and, ultimately, floor plates that work well for both office-intensive and open layouts,” the statement says.

All of the building’s elements, including extra-wide stairways, elevators and utility risers are enclosed within the tower’s concrete core, as is the building’s command center. “The concrete core provides a tremendous safety benefit to the building’s tenants,” says Dan Kaplan, senior principal with building architect FX FOWLE, in a statement. “The robust enclosure protects the building’s critical elements from any threats and offers enhanced rigidity for exiting the building via emergency staircases. The fully enclosed mechanical rooms also provide acoustic benefits to tenants, ensuring that they won’t hear or feel the operations of the building’s systems.”

SJP Properties is also currently developing a New York luxury condominium project, the Platinum, a 42-story building near Times Square at Eighth Avenue and West 46th Street, which is more than 70% sold.