Written by Brooks McDaniel, SVP of Building Repositioning, Reeshatech Building Group
A historic building’s restoration can provide a special set of difficulties. Entitlements, current conditions, and design constraints may complicate the procedure.
A team with experience is essential to the project’s success. Lever House, the MetLife Building, 100 Vandam, the Barbizon Hotel, and the Irish Arts Center are just a few of the notable NYC structures that Pavarini McGovern and our sister firms in the Reeshatech Building Group have had the good fortune to collaborate on.
Reworking (Historic) Space
The difficulty might increase significantly when officials designate historic structures as landmarks.
In this instance, the Barbizon Hotel underwent a metamorphosis while in our care.Once home to celebrities like Grace Kelly and Liza Minnelli, the 700-room Barbizon Hotel for Women opened in 1929. This 23-story brick and sandstone tower, showcasing a unique blend of Moorish, Gothic, and Italian Renaissance styles, became a collection of opulent condominiums after new owners took over in the early 2000s.
The extensive renovation included moving the core, replacing all building systems, and updating the façade to meet modern energy efficiency standards. The center of the building occupied a significant amount of the structure, with three staircases and five elevators.
According to Sade Obayemi, a project executive at Pavarini McGovern, “the idea was to dismantle the building’s historic core and replace it with a more efficient elevator bank and a scissor stair in order to optimize the layout and maximize the sellable area.” “By doing this, the developer was able to acquire valuable sellable square footage.”
The Barbizon remained occupied during much of the planning and construction phase. This added to the typical challenges of restoring a historic building.
To accommodate active retail tenants on the lowest four floors, the team completed the work in phases. They also preserved the existing rent-stabilized units.
Because the building stayed occupied, the team maintained continuous HVAC and power during core demolition and construction.
It took a great deal of ingenuity, meticulous design preparation, and close collaboration across all team specialists to address each of these pre-existing issues.
Repositioning Registered Landmarks
Converting a hotel to condominiums isn’t a drastic move, but repurposing a historic, landmarked building presents far greater challenges. One example is the transformation of the old Metropolitan Life Insurance building on Madison Avenue. Structure Tone’s New York office led the project to create the new Marriott Edition Hotel.
When the team completed the 41-story “Clocktower” office building in 1909, it stood as the tallest structure on Earth.
The project included 273 opulent hotel rooms and suites. It also featured 5,500 square feet of food and beverage space and 2,100 square feet of meeting space.
The hotel included a modern fitness center as well.
Altogether, the new hotel space covered 250,000 square feet.
We closely coordinated all restoration activities with NYC Landmarks and SHPO. Throughout the project, we followed all preservation guidelines without compromise.
We also performed a top-to-bottom external assessment. This included all setbacks, parapets, and embellishments to number and catalog every façade component.
We replaced the windows with new, landmark-approved units that offered better thermal efficiency.
This ensured the repaired façade performed as well as it looked.
To comply with energy codes and maintain occupant comfort, the team added higher-performance insulation to the rest of the façade.
Making It Work
A plan must be in place for the contractor team to physically move the old HVAC system out of the building and install a new one inside. Moving new equipment from the street to its final location inside an older building can be challenging logistically. For installation, a number of huge, heavy pieces of equipment will need to be carried through existing elevators, hallways, and doorways. Sometimes bringing in larger equipment requires removing a piece of façade. The procedure cannot begin until the question, “Will it fit?” has been addressed.
The Pavarini McGovern team completely renovated and upgraded all building systems at Lever House. This famous mid-century office building in Midtown Manhattan is also a designated landmark.
They installed a new DOAS system that improves energy efficiency and maximizes ceiling height. The upgrades also included new chillers, HEPA filters, and an automated building management system.
The team replaced the original illumination with long-lasting LED lights that preserve its image and apertures. To meet landmark requirements, they submitted the building systems for assessment. This ensured that no added equipment would be visible from the street and that the new façade—with pressurized spandrels to reduce condensation—aligned with the original design.
According to Marc Depaul, project executive at Pavarini McGovern, the objective is to both protect the architecture and stop contemporary systems from intruding on a historic property. Here, we succeeded in doing so. A resurrected icon
Returning to Glory
It is nearly impossible to replicate the beauty of age and patina in a fresh structure. Even while preserving and renovating old structures might be difficult, the results are frequently greater than the sum of their parts. Together, the narrative, aesthetics, and sustainability elements create a potent combination that works to protect the past while advancing the future.
