North American Properties (NAP) and Hoar Construction have reached new milestones in the redevelopment of Colony Square in Midtown, including the topping out of Buildings 200 and 300.
Building 200 is the future home of the Main & Main food hall and IPIC, a dine-in movie theater. Building 300 features street-level retail and 87,500 square feet of Class A office space, which will be anchored by the regional headquarters of Whole Foods Market.
“Our construction site is surrounded by a hotel, two office towers and three condo towers; it’s like we are building a ship in a bottle,” said John Kelley, partner and senior vice president of commercial development at NAP. “Peeling the layers back on a 50-year-old development located on an incredibly dense corner while it continues to operate 24/7 with office users, hotel guests and residents requires intense planning and flexibility. While this is a very complex project, the end result will be transformative for Midtown.”
The demolition of the former enclosed mall was particularly complex as Hoar had to reinforce the legacy structure before it could be demolished. Unlike traditional demolitions, the construction team surgically dismantled the building, removing each part piece by piece. When renovating the street-level of the two existing office towers, Hoar reinforced and expanded the weight of the structure to support a new and more modern street-facing design. Other nontraditional efforts included shoring the parking garage to support a 100-ton crane as well as installing pile caps and micropiles three floors below Buildings 200 and 300 to allow for vertical construction.
“Considering the complexity and massive scale of Colony Square’s redevelopment, we’re proud of the speed and efficiency in which our team has reached this topping out milestone,” said Michael Ohlson, superintendent at Hoar. “We’re excited to be one step closer to the completion of the reimagined destination.”
The shells for Building 200 and 300 will deliver later this year, at which point tenant build-outs will begin. Construction on Building 500, a 135,600-square-foot office building occupied by Jones Day, will kick off this fall, and is expected to go vertical early next year.
Upon completion in 2020, the reimagined Colony Square will feature 940,000 square feet of Class A office space, 160,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, 262 residences and a 466-room W Hotel.
To stay up-to-date on construction progress and announcements, visit colonysquaremidtown.com.