Faithful+Gould is providing pre-construction cost estimating services to West 8 and The Trust for Governors Island. This project presents various challenges due to its location, earthwork and geotechnical issues, and the complexity of the intended phasing plans.
"We have enjoyed working with West 8 and the state and city of New York on this effort, and we are excited to see the redeveloped Governors Island start to materialize," said Tom Jaske, senior vice president and executive on the project.
Governors Island, a centuries old Coast Guard and Army base sold to the city and state of New York for $1 in 2003, is now undergoing a transformation and is becoming home to a new park and public spaces. Faithful+Gould is working with the entire design team to fully understand the issues and logistics, and to provide the highest level of cost consultancy for this important project as it progresses through the design stages.
Through the vision and design of Dutch landscape architects West 8, the island is home to a new park, 30 acres of which open this May, complete with a new public plaza at Liggett Terrace, a 1,500-tree Hammock Grove, new ball fields and open lawns facing the New York Harbor at the Play Lawn.
Visitors to the island will enjoy views of the Manhattan skyline, including the Statue of Liberty. Attractions such as car-free bicycling and strolling, new spaces for play and public art and beautifully landscaped areas for lounging and recreation are merely part of the island's draw. The West 8 design is intended to make Governors Island a major destination for New Yorkers and visitors.
Faithful+Gould worked with West 8 to set up a framework for cost control throughout the design phases, establishing budgets for each distinct project area and allocating costs across all these individual areas. We created a custom cost model that allowed our team the flexibility to not only track the cost of the entire project and the individual project areas, but also package the areas into phases that coincide with the available funding.
Their active involvement in the decision making process also helped the client and designers greatly during value engineering exercises after each design stage, and their direction and guidance kept the project on budget and moving forward. The complex earthwork package on the island also prompted Faithful+Gould to develop a custom model that tracked every cubic yard of earth being imported and generated on the island. Their detailed understanding of the complex earthwork, its logistics and ultimately its cost were key factors in the success of the design phase.
On July 25, 2013, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg attended a groundbreaking of The Hills, a crowning feature of the new park. Made of recycled construction and fill materials, The Hills will rise 25 to 80 ft. above the island. The summit of the tallest hill will provide visitors with a 360-degree panorama of the Statue of Liberty, the harbor and the Lower Manhattan skyline. The Hills are expected to be completed in 2015.
Once completed, Governors Island will provide a real escape from the city where visitors can enjoy a day out filled with walking, lounging, cycling and picnicking. Tags: