Foundation work will continue through February 2009

It took less than six months to deconstruct the 11-story building that once stood at 99 Church Street. With the site now flattened to grade, developer Silverstein Properties will launch construction of a new hotel and residential skyscraper this month.

The project’s update was reported to Community Board 1 on June 9th by Silverstein’s Development Manager Richard McKinley. He said that the deconstruction moved steadily, with crews removing one floor of the steel-and-concrete structure approximately every two weeks.

Crews from Tishman Construction now turn their attention to building the new, 80-story tower. The original underground bathtub at the site will be reused, though new caissons and piles will be installed to support the 912-foot-tall tower. That below-grade work is being coordinated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to ensure the 2/3 and E subway lines, which run adjacent to the construction site, are not disrupted.

McKinley said that foundation work for 99 Church Street continues through February 2009, with superstructure to follow through June 2010. As the steel skeleton rises, the concrete curtain wall will follow up the building, about one month behind the superstructure, to help expedite construction.

The new tower, designed by architect Robert Stern, will be home to a 190-room Four Seasons hotel on the lower 22 floors, while the upper floors will house 143 one- to five-bedroom condominiums. At its base, Silverstein has planned an 8,600-square-foot public plaza. That plaza, located mid-block between Church Street and Broadway, will create a pedestrian corridor linking Barclay Street and Park Place.

The building also will include guest, resident, and public underground parking, a new street-level restaurant, a spa, and other amenities.

With initial hotel occupancy slated for January 2011, 99 Church Street is expected to be fully open in July 2011.