In a first in the United States, a theater will be permanently raised off the ground and tucked into the new $2.5 billion TSX Tower, named for its location at the crossroads of Times Square, announces Cawsie Jijina, principal at Severud Associates, the consulting engineering firm entrusted with the complex assignment for its client, L&L Holding Company and Maefield Development.
The unprecedented work, which begins this winter, will be completed in late 2021 and will permit ownership to literally insert 4 levels below the theater, 75,000 square feet of retail space at 1568 Broadway, with 100 feet of frontage on Times Square at the corner of 47th Street, and introduce a new 669-room hotel.
It involves four steps:
- Severud will carve out an additional subterranean level into the bedrock that currently supports the 43-story Doubletree Hotel (which was built above the theater in 1990), and will be actually lowering the tower’s foundation by about 30 feet.
- Severud’s design calls for a partial demolition of the hotel, adjusting the heights of various floors, increasing the load-carrying capacity of virtually every floor, and building a new state-of-the art hotel.
- Adding a permanent outdoor stage.
and, of course,
- Physically raising the theater 30 feet in the air.
“We are certainly no strangers to complex structural engineering projects,” says Mr. Jijina, Principal of the firm, “but, even for Severud, this is one of the most complex assignments we have ever undertaken in our 90-year history.” Over the years Severud has also been the structural engineer of the Bank of America Tower, 20 TSQ with the NFL Experience, and the currently under-construction One Vanderbilt Tower, across the street from Grand Central Terminal.
“Raising a theater is unprecedented in the world, as far as I know,” notes Mr. Jijina, “but when one factors in the tasks of renovating a significant part of the hotel, and simultaneously physically drilling down 30 feet into bedrock to create new space – all of which must be done while both the hotel and theater are above your head – then it becomes a structural engineering feat.
“But Severud is best known for undertaking such difficult assignments, and so we are the natural structural engineering choice for this multi-faceted task.”
The proper sequencing of the work is essential, stresses Mr. Jijina. “This involves a very sensitive balancing act of marrying old elements to new ones in such a way that everything will be in a constant state of equilibrium,” he says.
The entire process has been approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.
“It has been a major effort, but all of this close attention to detail will pay off wonderfully,” Mr. Jijina adds. “L&L will be able to offer badly needed retail space in the crossroads of the world. The 106-year-old theater will be able to continue to offer top-flight Broadway shows well into its second century. And the renovated hotel will offer 2018-style facilities, with rooms that will provide not only greater floor-to-floor height, but also the latest in high-tech amenities.”
Built in 1912, “playing The Palace” was the dream of countless famous performers. For many years it was the preeminent vaudeville theater in the country. The who’s who of entertainment royalty have performed on this stage, including Frank Sinatra, Ethel Barrymore, Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Jerry Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Bette Midler, Shirley MacLaine, and Diana Ross.
In 1965, The Nederlander Organization turned The Palace into a legitimate theater for the opening of Sweet Charity, starring Gwen Verdon. Since then, it has housed many star-studded hits, including Lauren Bacall in Applause and Woman of the Year, Richard Kiley inMan of La Mancha, George Hearn in La Cage aux Folles, and Keith Carradine in The Will Rogers Follies. In 1994, the theater was transformed to house Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which was followed by their musical, Aida.
Severud Associates has been a leader in structural engineering since 1928, specializing in unusually complex assignments. Its projects have included Madison Square Garden (for which it has been the sole structural engineering service provider since 1968), One Bryant Park, the St. Louis Arch, and The Seagram Building. www.severud.com
