TSX Broadway and Palace Theater Redevelopment

Location: New York City, New York

Award: High Performance

Project Team

Owner: L&L Holding Company

Contractor: Pavarini McGovern, LLC

Post-Tensioning Contractor: Structural Technologies/VSL

Geotechnical Engineer: Langan

Structural Engineer: Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, P.C.

Engineer (Foundation and Theater Lift): Urban Foundation/Engineering

Architect: Mancini Duffy

Building Envelope Architect: Perkins Eastman

Historic Preservation and Theater Preservation Architects: PBDW Architects and Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, P.C.

Concrete Contractor: Sorbara Construction Corp.

Ready Mixed Concrete: Tec-Crete Transit-Mix Corp.

Concrete: All Island Testing Associates

Concrete Admixture Manufacturer: Sika Corporation

Field Testing Lab: Intertek MT Group

Slag Cement: Heidelberg Materials

TSX Broadway and Palace Theater Redevelopment project, led by Severud Associates, is a transformative urban development in Times Square, New York, NY, USA. This 48-story, 660,000 ft2 (61,320 m2) building, reaching 581 ft (177 m), integrates a hotel tower, entertainment venue, retail spaces, and the auditorium of the historic Palace Theater. Structural work began with excavating under the 111-year-old theater and constructing a 6 ft (2 m) deep beam beneath the theater’s masonry-bearing walls. Super columns, comprising 14,000 psi (97 MPa) concrete, were cast at the theater’s corners, and a post-tensioned girder system was constructed above the theater.

The new structure was then used to lift the theater 30 ft (9 m) above its original elevation  as well as support 32-stories of new hotel space above the theater. The post-tensioned transfer girders are each 44 ft (13 m) deep and span 140 ft (43 m). Additional concrete structures include core walls and flat plate floors. Of the 30,000 yd3 (23,000 m3) of concrete required for the job, 96% contained slag cement. The project’s 14,000 psi mixture, for example, used a 41% slag cement substitution. It is estimated that slag cement reduced the project’s embodied carbon by over 4000 tons (3630 tonnes).

Application Type

Application Type
% Slag Cement Replacement	Overall slag cement represented 40% of all cementitious materials used on the project.
% Portland Cement	60%
% Portland Limestone Cement
% Other SCM (if applicable)	1.6% of the cementitious material was silica fume (SF). This from a 3% SF dose in the above grade 14ksi and 12ksi mixes.
Aggregate
Water/cement ratio
7-day strengths
28-day strengths	A full range of design strengths were used. Design strengths of 14ksi and 12ksi made up 43% of the total above grade concrete. Foundation mixes were 8ksi, 10ksi and 14ksi.