New York, NY

Perched on the southern tip of Lower Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River, Pier A is the oldest functioning pier in New York City. Built in 1886 to serve the Department of Docks and Harbor Police, it provided a key vantage point from which to oversee, organize and control the development along shoreline and the chaotic traffic in the harbor.

Today, Pier A is owned by New York City and surrounded by the Battery Park City development and historic Battery Park. The adaptive reuse of this underutilized historic landmark presents a significant opportunity to promote economic growth and enhancing tourism in the area.

The first step in revitalizing the historic Pier was to stabilize the advancing deterioration of the building, which had been left abandoned since the 1970s. The team then determined appropriate guidelines for the restoration of the building to preserve its character while enabling the attraction and accommodation of modern commercial tenants.

The restoration process has had sustainable design goals at its core, and the project expects a minimum of LEED Silver certification. The team salvaged as many free-standing historical elements as possible for reuse, including wood stair railings, iron structural brackets, doors and door hardware, and ornamental metal sheeting. Materials left behind during a previous failed restoration attempt in the 1990s were also reused as much as possible. Modern building systems are being incorporated including an efficient mechanical system and infrastructure to accommodate public assembly uses.

CLIENT: Battery Park City Authority
COMPLETION: 2013
SIZE: 40,000 square feet
COST: $31 million