AECOM Tishman served as CM for this 45-story, 356,490 SF luxury high-rise at 20 West 53rd Street. Consisting of a 120-room, five-star hotel on the building’s first 12 floors, 60 luxury condominiums on the upper 32 tower floors, and a 27,500 SF white box on the ground floor and two below-grade levels (housing the New York Public Library’s Donnell branch), the project attained LEED Silver.
Designed by SOM, the project is positioned as the last word in urban luxury. On the second floor, a 50-foot crystal bar pavilion is surrounded by an outdoor terrace, while other amenities include a spa with a 55-foot indoor pool, a fitness facility and an upscale restaurant at street level.
The Baccarat’s north and south elevations feature curtainwall, and a sleek, black metal façade east and west, surfaces are inspired by the neighboring MoMA designed by Edward Durell Stone.
Given the location on 53rd Street – directly across from MoMA, close to landmarked St. Thomas Church and immediately adjacent to four other commercial properties, as well as the MTA subway running under West 53rd Street – this project presented some logistical challenges. The constrained urban site meant ensuring that all pedestrians and adjacent buildings were well protected during superstructure and exterior wall erection. We located our vertical hoist on the southwest corner of the building, and our tower crane to the northeast: every square foot of the building’s footprint was used to accommodate the logistical demands to deliver this project properly and safely.