Extell Development Company is moving forward on its first office building in East Harlem in New York City. Known as Harlem Headquarters, this nine-story building, whose construction is scheduled to begin next year and be ready for fitouts by the end of 2022, will offer 441,600 sf of Class A office space. The development includes a 7,500-sf roofdeck terrace and a 40,851-sf community center.
Gensler designed Harlem Headquarters with 56,000-sf floor plates that can be divided into three zones, so layouts can be customized for tenants, says Rose Disarno, Associate and Design Lead at Gensler’s New York office. Each space will have access to its own terrace outside.
Extell is touting Harlem Headquarters’ “smart design,” which Disarno explains includes a solar array installed on the roof and MIRV-14 filters installed throughout the building, whose façade will be insulated to exceed New York’s 2016 requirements.
Leasing is expected to begin sometime this fall, with Cushman & Wakefield serving as the building’s marketing agent. Disarno believes that the Harlem Headquarters’ roofdeck will be a “critical” amenity as employees return to offices on a fuller-time basis. The building is also adjacent to several subway stops, and eventually is expected to have access to the Metro Line rail line that stretches to the city’s surrounding suburbs.
Extell did not disclose the construction cost for Harlem Headquarters, whose Building Team includes Monadnock (GC), GMS (SE), AKF (MEP and lighting), Philip Habib + Associates (CE), IBA Consultants (façade), Bright Power (renewable energy), Matthews Nielsen Landscape Architects (landscaping), Longman Lindsey (acoustics), and JM Zoning (zoning).
Extell had been exploring opportunities to develop property in East Harlem for a while, according to its chairman and founder Gary Barnett. In April 2014, the company acquired the property where Harlem Headquarters will be built, located at 125th Street and Lexington Avenue, for $39 million from a partnership known as East Abyssinian Triangle.
Large floor plates within Harlem Headquarters (above) will accommodate tenant customization. Each tenant will have access to outdoor terraces (below).
ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS
Harlem Headquarters will feature 30,000 sf of ground-floor retail, and Disarno says there’s been some talk about luring a grocer as one of the tenants. A grocery would be a welcome addition to this development, which sits on a site that once encompassed a 68,000-sf Pathmark that, when it opened in 1997, was this community’s first supermarket. Hunter College’s New York Food Policy Center estimated that the Pathmark was serving 30,000 customers a week before it closed in November 2015, following the bankruptcy filing that previous July by its parent company The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known locally as A&P.
A site on New York’s Lower East Side where another Pathmark closed in 2012 is where Extell, in the spring of 2019, completed construction on One Manhattan Square, an 800-ft-tall, 80-story residential high rise with 815 condos designed by Meyer Davis, the studio behind Oscar de la Renta’s flagship retail boutiques.
An acre of private gardens and quiet spaces that overlook New York's East River and Manhattan Bridge is one of the amenities at One Manhattan Square, an 80-story condo high rise. Images: Evan Joseph
One Manhattan Square features one of the largest private outdoor gardens in New York City, more than one acre—45,000 sf—and designed by The Netherlands-based West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. The gardens are situated on a gradual incline that overlooks the East River and Manhattan Bridge. This amenity is further evidence of how landscape architecture and biophilia are becoming central to designs for various typologies.
Related Stories
Sustainability | Apr 4, 2023
NIBS report: Decarbonizing the U.S. building sector will require massive, coordinated effort
Decarbonizing the building sector will require a massive, strategic, and coordinated effort by the public and private sectors, according to a report by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).
Legislation | Mar 24, 2023
New York lawmakers set sights on unsafe lithium-ion batteries used in electric bikes and scooters
Lawmakers in New York City and statewide have moved to quell the growing number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries used in electric bikes and scooters.
Government Buildings | Mar 24, 2023
19 federal buildings named GSA Design Awards winners
After a six-year hiatus, the U.S. General Services Administration late last year resumed its esteemed GSA Design Awards program. In all, 19 federal building projects nationwide were honored with 2022 GSA Design Awards, eight with Honor Awards and 11 with Citations.
Mass Timber | Mar 19, 2023
A 100% mass timber construction project is under way in North Carolina
An office building 100% made from mass timber has started construction within the Live Oak Bank campus in Wilmington, N.C. The 67,000-sf structure, a joint building venture between the GCs Swinerton and Wilmington-headquartered Monteith Construction, is scheduled for completion in early 2024.
Urban Planning | Mar 16, 2023
Three interconnected solutions for 'saving' urban centers
Gensler Co-CEO Andy Cohen explores how the global pandemic affected city life, and gives three solutions for revitalizing these urban centers.
Sponsored | Cladding and Facade Systems | Mar 15, 2023
Metal cladding trends and innovations
Metal cladding is on a growth trajectory globally. This is reflected in rising demand for rainscreen cladding and architectural metal coatings. This course covers the latest trends and innovations in the metal cladding market.
Mixed-Use | Mar 11, 2023
Austin mixed-use development will provide two million sf of office, retail, and residential space
In Austin, Texas, the seven-building East Riverside Gateway complex will provide a mixed-use community next to the city’s planned Blue Line light rail, which will connect the Austin Bergstrom International Airport with downtown Austin. Planned and designed by Steinberg Hart, the development will include over 2 million sf of office, retail, and residential space, as well as amenities, such as a large park, that are intended to draw tech workers and young families.
Architects | Mar 8, 2023
Is Zoom zapping your zip? Here are two strategies to help creative teams do their best work
Collaborating virtually requires a person to filter out the periphery of their field of vision and focus on the glow of the screen. Zoom fatigue is a well-documented result of our over-reliance on one method of communication to work. We need time for focus work but working in isolation limits creative outcomes and innovations that come from in-person collaboration, write GBBN's Eric Puryear, AIA, and Mandy Woltjer.
Green Renovation | Mar 5, 2023
Dept. of Energy offers $22 million for energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades
The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy is offering more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America. Prize recipients will be selected based on their ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades.
Sustainability | Mar 2, 2023
The next steps for a sustainable, decarbonized future
For building owners and developers, the push to net zero energy and carbon neutrality is no longer an academic discussion.