Grand Finale

Towers at the Last Two Battery Park City Sites Seeking LEED-Gold Certification.

By Debra Wood

Two residential towers now under construction on the last remaining sites in the mixed-use Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan are going for the gold.

Sustainability is “where the market is heading,” says Marshall Tycher, managing partner of Roseland Property in Short Hill, N.J., development manager for developer Milstein Properties of New York. “It’s smarter. It’s responsible. It has a good return [on investment]. I think in the next 10 years, you will see every building go green.”

The two towers at Battery Park City are required to achieve LEED gold certification.

The New York State Legislature created the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority in 1968 and charged it with planning, creating, coordinating and maintaining a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail and park space within its designated 92-acre site. The authority leases parcels of land to developers who build in accordance with its green guidelines to maximize energy efficiency and minimize water usage.

The 32-story Liberty Luxe (top left) on site 24 and 23-story Liberty Green (top right) on site 23 will house 280 and 191 condominium units, respectively. They are being built on the last two undeveloped sites in Battery Park City. Both are being built to LEED Gold specifications. (Images courtesy of Costas Kondylis and Partners.)

Stan Eckstut, principal in charge of the project for Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects of New York, and his former partner, Alexander Cooper, helped draft those original guidelines and a master plan 30 years ago. Now as design architect, Eckstut has designed the final two buildings at Battery Park City.

“For us, [green design] is part of the culture of everything we do,” Eckstut says.

The 32-story Liberty Luxe on site 24 and 23-story Liberty Green on site 23 will house 280 and 191 condominium units, respectively. The base of the slender buildings features a 65,000-sq-ft community center, with a swimming pool, basketball court and classrooms, which a not-for-profit agency will operate. The two-story, glass and stone-based recreation center connects the two buildings below ground.

Occupancy of the concrete-frame towers is anticipated for early 2011, and at that time, Battery Park City will be complete.

Passersby on the sidewalk will be able to look into the gym and pool. An entry to a ball field sits between the two 575,000-sq-ft combined buildings.

Tycher pegs the project cost at between $450 million and $475 million.

Sustainable features

A third desire beyond meeting the Battery Park City guidelines and achieving gold certification is that “the architects and developers do something more different and special,” says Adrian Tuluca, principal-in-charge of Viridian Energy & Environmental of New York, the sustainability consultant. Viridian estimates the energy-efficiency strategies will reduce regulated energy costs by 30%. Regulated energy cost excludes tenant-installed lighting, cooking and washing, and elevators.

“This building has a number of interesting green elements,” Tycher says. “The most unique is it’s the first residential building with a fuel cell in New York City.”

The 300-killowatt fuel cell takes natural gas and converts it into electricity and hot water without releasing any noxious emissions.

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“It’s chemical converted,” Tuluca says. “The only thing [created] is carbon dioxide and hot water, and the hot water is used for the building. At best, an electrical-generation plant has 43% efficiency. This has an efficiency of 70% to 80% because you are using the heat.”

The fuel cell and photovoltaic cells will generate energy for the building.

“Photovoltaic panels will be prominent on the bulkhead of site 24 and 23 to create a sustainable design gesture at the top,” says Raya Ani, associate principal at EE&K and lead designer on the project. “The photovoltaic trellises along the lower roofs will highlight the gateway. They become essential design features as well as provide 5% of the building energy need.”

A blackwater system will collect water from the buildings and reuse it for toilet flushing and the cooling tower. Stormwater will be collected and used for irrigation.

A planted roof provides a high level of insulation, stormwater management and cleaner air. Ani says it also creates attractive, landscaped views for residents. There are private terraces and a public space.

Spectrally selective low-e glass with high-visible transmittance and a low-shading coefficient in airtight casement windows will clad the buildings.

“We studied the buildings surrounding it, especially the Goldman Sachs Building, and understand the shadows that are created in the view corridors,” Ani says. “Then we strategically placed the windows and larger openings to take advantage of the views as well as sunlight, making sure we get a lot of light coming into the apartments.”

Lighting strategies include occupancy sensors in the corridors, stairs and garages; master switches in the apartments; daylight dimming system in the lobby; and fluorescent lamps in the unit kitchens, bathrooms and hallways.

Water-loop heat pumps are designed to perform better than required by code. Each unit features a programmable thermostat. Direct-expansion air-conditioning units are water cooled, with water coils connected to boilers rather than air cooled.

Gas-fired boilers will provide winter humidification. Hot-water boilers use a modulating flame and a variable-speed drive on the hot-water-circulation pumps and cooling-tower fans. Carbon monoxide sensors in the garage reduce fan use during periods of low or no traffic.

Design and construction

EE&K designed the two adjoining buildings to emphasize a slim, vertical look and create visual interest.

“The western façades are orderly and reserved to address the residential character of the avenue,” Ani says. “The eastern façades facing the city have their own identity, expressed by large-scale projections out of the basic massing and larger architectural expressions.”

Plaza Construction of New York began construction in May. Costa Kondylis & Partners of New York serves as architect of record. Both companies declined to comment for this story.

“We’ve had a long life at Battery Park City and now we are finishing the last two buildings,” Eckstut says. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity for us to be part of something where we began it and are ending it--sad in a way to end it. But maybe more things will come of it. People are learning all the time from going to Battery Park City and seeing what we have done.”