A design competition to create a promenade and parks on Governors Island in New York Harbor is down to five teams after the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation pared down an initial list of 29 teams.

The agency, a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation, solicited entrants last October, attracting teams representing 10 countries and 65 firms overall.

The winning plan will create a 2.2-mi-long great promenade around the island perimeter, a new park on the southern side, and improved open space in the northern Historic District, including the 10-acre parade ground. It would add 25 to 40 acres of parkland.

The five teams selected for the competition, which will culminate this summer, are:

• Field Operations of New York and WilkinsonEyre Architects of London

• Hargreaves Associates of New York and Michael Maltzan Architecture of Los Angeles

• Ramus Ella Architects of New York and Michel Desvigne Paysagistes of Paris

• West 8 urban design & landscape architecture of the Netherlands, Rogers Marvel Architects of New York, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro of New York

• WRT of Philadelphia, Weiss-Manfredi of New York, and Urban Strategies of Toronto.

The redevelopment of the 172-acre isle, a former military base that the federal government transferred to state control, has been in the works for several years. Last year, the development agency issued a request for proposals for redeveloping and preserving historic features on 150 of the 172 acres. But after reviewing four master proposals to redevelop the whole island and 21 other single-project proposals, the agency last fall decided against pursuing all but one of the submissions – the New York Harbor School, a new maritime-focused school to be operated by the New York City Department of Education.

The whole-island proposals did not meet the RFP criteria, described in a statement last fall as a “coherent vision supported by market data, financial return, and funding sources” as well as deep development team experience.

“It’s such a huge decision to create that kind of partnership for an island that has so many historic features,” says Leslie Koch, the agency’s president. “We’re no longer planning to pursue a master-developer concept. Instead we’re going to proceed with a mixed-use, multiphase process.”

Koch says no date has been set for future RFPs under the new process. The 22 acres not slated for redevelopment make up the Governors Island National Monument administered by the National Park Service.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point recently announced plans to expand its science academic building, Bartlett Hall, into the attached Cadet Library to accommodate new research facilities.

The expansion, scheduled to begin in 2009 and end in 2013, is estimated to cost more than $100 million, according to West Point officials. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District is overseeing the project.

The project entails improvements to the 321,000-sq-ft complex to renovate space in the Cadet Library freed up by the construction of the new Thomas Jefferson Library, set to open in summer 2008. The original complex was built in phases starting in 1913 on the campus along the Hudson River in New York.

The design-bid-build effort on Bartlett Hall began with the award of a design contract to San Francisco’s URS Corp. The facility will house teaching and research laboratories for chemistry, biology, physics, and photonics, along with support spaces.

Planned improvements include asbestos abatement and seismic retrofitting, as well as new energy conservation features and upgraded life safety systems. The academy also plans to add facilities for chemical imaging, storage, and exhaust, and a chilled-water recirculation system for laser labs.

All library functions, except for the archives, will move to the six-story Jefferson facility, a $70 million project that began in June 2005. STV Inc. of New York designed the 150,000-sq-ft facility, and J. Kokolakis Contracting of Rocky Point, N.Y., is the contractor.

A pair of bridges in New York and New Jersey are set for major rehabilitation projects.

In New York City, the 1955-vintage Roosevelt Island Bridge connecting the East River isle to Queens is set to get a full-scale $86.5 million rehabilitation.

The 35-month project, set to begin this year, entails a total refurbishment of both the main bridge and the approaches, including replacement of the bridge deck, cables, lifting machinery, and other elements. The project also involves replacing the approach bearings with seismic bearings.

The New York City Department of Transportation hired Skanska USA Civil of Whitestone, N.Y., as contractor late last year. The effort will take place in stages to minimize disruption to traffic.

The 1,300-ft-long lift-span bridge crosses the river’s East Channel with two vehicle lanes and a pedestrian walkway.

Roosevelt Island, considered part of New York County, is only connected to Manhattan by cable car and subway.

In New Jersey, the Trenton-Morrisville Bridge, a 12-span toll bridge that carries two northbound and three southbound lanes of U.S. Route 1 between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is set for a $100 million makeover. 

The 1,324-ft-long bridge is scheduled for various improvements, including installation of a northbound auxiliary lane and noise wall, as part of the 44-month project. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is the owner, and it hired Hill International of Marlton, N.J., to provide construction management and inspection services. The design engineer for the project is the Louis Berger Group of East Orange, N.J., and the general contractor is Conti Construction of South Plainfield, N.J.

The overall project goals include enhancing safety and toll plaza operations, reducing congestion, mitigating noise, and improving interchange access. 

A market profile released in January by the New York Building Congress has found that the city’s real estate and construction industry generates $60.8 billion in annual revenue and accounts for more than 275,000 private sector jobs.

The report, entitled “Bedrock of the Economy: The New York City Building Industry,” compiled a series of data points about the industry’s activity, its impact on the economy, its workers, and its various sectors. The congress and its affiliate, the New York Building Foundation, prepared the report with the help of Urbanomics, a New York-based economic consulting firm.

Among the findings was a sign that concerns over an aging skilled workforce may be misplaced. The report found that the average age of today’s construction worker in New York City is 40, down from 51 ten years ago. The highest proportion of workers was between ages 35 to 39 and the largest cohort was between 30 and 50.

In addition, the report found that 47 percent of all building industry workers were born abroad. Of those, it found that 69 percent who arrived in the United States during the 1970s have since become U.S. citizens. Similarly, 44 percent who arrived in the 1980s have gained citizenship.

Other findings include:

• The industry’s 275,000 jobs at about 31,500 firms tilts most toward the construction sector, which has 123,200 jobs. The real estate sector has 90,300 jobs, and architecture and engineering firms have 31,600 positions. Another 190,000 jobs are in building services or in construction-related positions in fields such as law, accounting, and catering.

• Construction work contributed $27.4 billion in economic activity to New York City in 2005, the most recent year full data was available. Real estate, leasing, and property management generated $25.9 billion in activity.

• Industry payrolls amounted to nearly $14 billion, with the highest average annual wage of $68,900 found in the heavy and civil construction sector, followed by $68,000 in architectural and engineering services.

• Three of four building industry workers both live and work in New York City. In the construction sector alone, 72% of all workers lived and worked in the city.