55 Water Street is a
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
on the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The 53-story, structure was completed in 1972. Designed by
Emery Roth and Sons
Emery Roth ( hu, Róth Imre, July 17, 1871 – August 20, 1948) was an American architect of Hungarian-Jewish descent who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, incorporating Beaux- ...
, the building was developed by the
Uris brothers
Uris Buildings Corporation was a New York City commercial real estate development company created by Harold and Percy Uris in 1960 from a predecessor private partnership. They retained 60% ownership in the corporation. One of the last buildings ...
. At the time of completion, it was the world's largest privately owned office building by floor area. 55 Water Street is built on a
superblock bounded by
Coenties Slip
Coenties Slip is a street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It runs southeast for two blocks in Lower Manhattan from Pearl Street to South Street. A walkway runs an additional block north from Pearl Street to Stone Str ...
to the southwest,
Water Street Water Street may refer to:
*Water Street, Hong Kong
** Water Street (constituency) around Water Street, Hong Kong
* Water Street, Milwaukee
*Water Street, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated village
* Water Street (Augusta, Maine)
*Water Street (St. Jo ...
to the northwest, Old Slip to the northeast, and
South Street and
FDR Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly called the FDR Drive for short, is a limited-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park ...
to the southeast. It is owned by the pension fund
Retirement Systems of Alabama
Retirement Systems of Alabama is the administrator of the pension fund for employees of the state of Alabama. It is headquartered in the state capital Montgomery, Alabama. David G. Bronner is the chief executive officer.
Under Bronner's leader ...
(RSA).
55 Water Street is composed of two sections: a 53-story tower to the south and a 15-story wing to the north. The building's facade is made of masonry and glass. The south building is rectangular, while the north building contains sloped walls and runs parallel to the northwestern boundary of the site. The
foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
are made of reinforced concrete-slab walls and the
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
is made of steel. The upper stories each contain of space, while the lower stories are almost double that size. There is an elevated public plaza on the eastern part of the site, known as Elevated Acre. Another public space to the southwest, Jeannette Park (now
Vietnam Veterans Plaza
Vietnam Veterans Plaza is an American memorial plaza in Manhattan, New York. It honors New York City citizens who served during the 20th-century Vietnam War.
Description and history
Located in the Financial District in Lower Manhattan, i ...
), was expanded when 55 Water Street was constructed.
The Uris Buildings Corporation proposed erecting a 53-story building on the site in October 1968, and work began the next year. The building was
topped out
In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...
with a ceremony on June 18, 1971, and tenants began moving into the structure at the beginning of 1972. Initially, the space was taken by several financial firms, including the
Chemical Bank of New York
Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world.
Beginning ...
, which leased roughly a third of the space and owned 15 percent of the building.
National Kinney Corporation
National Kinney Corporation was a parking, property management services, and real estate development company based in New York City. It was established on August 7, 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets due to a f ...
bought a majority stake in the Uris properties by late 1973, and it sold 55 Water Street to
Olympia and York
Olympia & York (also spelled as Olympia and York, abbreviated as O&Y) was a major international property development firm based in Toronto, Canada. The firm built major financial office complexes including Canary Wharf in London, the World Fina ...
in 1976. RSA bought the building in 1993 after Olympia and York had difficulties paying off the mortgage. The building was renovated in the 1990s and again in the 2010s.
Site
55 Water Street is in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
The
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
covers an entire
city block
A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design.
A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
bounded by
Coenties Slip
Coenties Slip is a street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It runs southeast for two blocks in Lower Manhattan from Pearl Street to South Street. A walkway runs an additional block north from Pearl Street to Stone Str ...
to the southwest,
Water Street Water Street may refer to:
*Water Street, Hong Kong
** Water Street (constituency) around Water Street, Hong Kong
* Water Street, Milwaukee
*Water Street, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated village
* Water Street (Augusta, Maine)
*Water Street (St. Jo ...
to the northwest, Old Slip to the northeast, and
South Street and the
FDR Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly called the FDR Drive for short, is a limited-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park ...
to the southeast. The site covers , with a
frontage
Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
of on Water and South Streets and a depth of . The
Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern is a museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street (Manhattan), Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street (Manhattan), Broad Street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhatt ...
block is to the northwest; the
New York City Police Museum
The New York City Police Museum (NYCPM) is a museum that has featured the history and contributions of the New York City Police Department since its establishment in 1845. The museum was located in Lower Manhattan in New York City, near Wall Stre ...
and
32 Old Slip are directly to the northeast; and
2 New York Plaza is to the west. Two blocks west of the building is the
South Ferry transportation hub, consisting of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
's
South Ferry/Whitehall Street station
The South Ferry/Whitehall Street station is a New York City Subway station complex in the Financial District neighborhood of Manhattan, under Battery Park. The complex is shared by the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the BMT Broadway L ...
and the
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...
's
Whitehall Terminal
The Whitehall Terminal is a ferry terminal in the South Ferry section of Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the corner of South Street and Whitehall Street. It is used by the Staten Island Ferry, which connects the island boroughs of Manhattan ...
. In addition, the building is directly across FDR Drive from the
Downtown Manhattan Heliport
The Downtown Manhattan Heliport (Downtown Manhattan/Wall St. Heliport) is a helicopter landing platform at Pier 6 in the East River in Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York.
History
Downtown Manhattan Heliport opened on December 8, 1960 ...
.
The building is assigned its own
ZIP Code, 10041; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes .
55 Water Street occupies a
superblock, which was created by combining four small city blocks.
Prior to the construction of the current office building, the site had contained the headquarters of the
Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey
The Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) of New York & New Jersey, founded in 1834 and affiliated with the Episcopal Church, serves mariners through education, pastoral care, and legal advocacy. With a budget of over $6 million, SCI is the largest, m ...
, designed by
Warren and Wetmore
Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City which was a partnership between Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles Delevan Wetmore (June 10, 1866 – May 8, 1941), that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and w ...
.
Cuylers Alley crossed the site from northwest to southeast, while
Front Street bisected the site from southwest to northeast. Both streets were closed to make way for the building's construction.
The entire site is
reclaimed land
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...
; prior to the
expansion of Lower Manhattan in the 18th and 19th centuries, the site was part of the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
.
Architecture
The building was designed by the firm of
Emery Roth & Sons
Emery Roth ( hu, Róth Imre, July 17, 1871 – August 20, 1948) was an American architect of Hungarian-Jewish descent who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, incorporating Beaux-A ...
for
Uris Buildings Corporation
Uris Buildings Corporation was a New York City commercial real estate development company created by Harold and Percy Uris in 1960 from a predecessor private partnership. They retained 60% ownership in the corporation. One of the last building ...
.
It is one of six buildings that Emery Roth and Sons designed in the immediate area. 55 Water Street is composed of two sections: a 53-story "south building" to the southwest (next to Jeannette Park) and a 15-story "north building" to the north (next to Water Street and Old Slip). There is an elevated plaza near the eastern section of the site, adjacent to Old Slip and South Street.
Form and facade
The building's facade is made of masonry and glass. The south building is rectangular, with its longer axis running parallel to the southwestern boundary of the site. This was done to avoid obstructing views of the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
(next to 55 Water Street's southeastern boundary) from nearby buildings.
The north building contains sloped walls and runs parallel to the northwestern boundary of the site. This gives the building an "L"-shape as seen from above.
Between floors 2 and 14, the bronze glass windows are inset within the masonry curtain wall. The mullions of the windows are spaced apart.
The 53-story section is tall to its roof.
Including rooftop dormers, the building measures tall to its pinnacle.
The roof is made of a waterproof membrane finished with a layer of slag.
Jaros, Baum & Bolles Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) is an American MEP (Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) and consulting engineering firm founded in 1915 by Alfred L. Jaros, Jr. and Albert L. Baum. The firm is best known for high-rise projects, including One World Trad ...
designed LED lighting for the
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
just below the building's roof.
Interior
When 55 Water Street was completed, it was the largest building in New York City, with of rentable space. Including non-rentable space, the structure had a total area of .
At the time, this made 55 Water Street the world's largest privately owned office building.
The
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is locate ...
and
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
both had more office space, but they were owned by a governmental entity. The next largest buildings in New York City were the
MetLife Building
The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed in the Internation ...
, with ;
One New York Plaza, with ; and the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, with .
The main tower and its shorter wing are connected at each of the lowest 15 stories.
The upper stories each contain of space, while the lower stories are almost double that size.
55 Water Street has remained New York City's largest office building into the 21st century.
In exchange for constructing public plazas next to the building, Uris was allowed to build an additional .
Uris built an underground concourse with provisions for a connection to an unbuilt
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
station.
The concourse was built as part of a master plan for transportation in New York City.
The main lobby was originally clad in
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
. In the 1990s, this was replaced with Italian and French marble, with stainless-steel decorative fixtures and aluminum-leaf ceilings. In addition, an onyx panel measuring was installed behind the reception counter.
Following another renovation in 2018, The main lobby contains a video wall, which is composed of two LED displays with 42 tiles each.
The displays collectively measure high by wide, with each display being wide.
The lobby also contains a pair of reception desks, a shoeshine stand, coffee bar, and lounge. There are also turnstiles through which tenants and guests must pass through.
Structural features
The
foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
are made of reinforced concrete-slab walls.
The foundation of the building includes a concrete
cofferdam
A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for construction or re ...
, which surrounds the site and descends to the underlying layer of
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
. Workers first placed a retaining wall of corrugated sheet-metal panels, which were sunken below ground, then scooped out the entire site. The cofferdam was then poured behind the retaining wall, and a layer of earth was placed between the cofferdam and retaining wall. This contrasted with the foundations of other skyscrapers in Manhattan, which were typically sunken directly to the bedrock, but it provided space for underground offices, a parking lot, and a bank vault for
Chemical Bank
Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world.
Beginning ...
.
The
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
is made of steel, with "Q"-deck floor slabs. The office stories can carry
live loads
A structural load or structural action is a force, deformation, or acceleration applied to structural elements. A load causes stress, deformation, and displacement in a structure. Structural analysis, a discipline in engineering, analyzes the e ...
of . The retail, plaza, basement, and mechanical spaces have higher live-load capacities, ranging up to for the plaza level.
The building contains of modular galvanized steel flooring. Generally, the office floors have a slab-to-slab height of , although the height of the finished office space could be as small as . The sub-levels, concourse, and plaza level have a slab-to-slab height of as measured between the floor and ceiling, while the retail and mechanical spaces have a slab-to-slab height of .
Mechanical features
Jaros, Baum & Bolles was the mechanical, engineering, and plumbing engineer for the building.
Floor 14 contains the building's primary mechanical rooms, ventilation units, and electrical equipment. There is additional mechanical equipment in the basement, on the roof, and on floors 2 and 52.
Electricity from the New York City power supply system flows to
distribution boards on the concourse, the first sub-level, and floor 14. There are also six electrical closets on each story.
In the 1990s, eleven electrical generators were installed on the roof, each with a capacity of ;
these were powered by pumps in the basement levels.
, there are 14 electrical generators and the emergency power system can run for up to three days.
There are 71 passenger elevators throughout the building. The 60 passenger elevators in the south building are divided into ten banks of six cars; each elevator bank connects the lobby with five to eight stories. The north building has nine passenger elevators, all connecting the subterranean levels to floors 1–13; five descend to the basement while the other four descend to the sub-basement.
The interiors of the elevator cabs were originally decorated in brown burlap but, during a 1990s renovation, the elevator cabs were redecorated in stainless steel and green marble.
55 Water Street also has six freight elevators: four in the south building and two in the north building. Each freight elevator travels from the basement to the highest level in that section of the building, except for a single elevator in the south building, which travels only from the basement to floor 18.
None of the elevators travels above floor 52 in the south building.
The building's
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
(HVAC) system is divided into several zones, each serving a different group of floors. 55 Water Street's chiller system was replaced in the 2010s.
The new system consists of three chillers,
which collectively emit 32.5 million fewer pounds of per year compared to the old system.
The chillers each weighed and were so heavy that they had to be lifted into the building's facade at night.
There is also a thermal-energy storage plant with 134 ice tanks, which collectively can store 16,800 ton-hours of heat.
There are eight
water tanks
A water tank is a container for storing water.
Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemica ...
, which are spread across the roofs of both structures and the 14th and 40th stories of the south building; in addition, the concourse level contains a
surge tank
A Surge tank is a water storage device used as a pressure neutralizer in hydropower water conveyance systems in order to dampen excess pressure variance.
A surge tank (or surge drum or surge pool) is a standpipe or storage reservoir at the downst ...
. These water tanks are also split into several zones, each spanning multiple floors. The tanks are fed by two water
mains that connect to the
New York City water supply system
A combination of aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems ( Croton, Catskill, and Delaware) stretching up to away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most extens ...
, the building's domestic water service is also fed by these mains. Two drainage pipes connect with the
New York City sewer system.
Plazas
Ground-level plazas
When 55 Water Street was built,
Coenties Slip
Coenties Slip is a street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It runs southeast for two blocks in Lower Manhattan from Pearl Street to South Street. A walkway runs an additional block north from Pearl Street to Stone Str ...
(which abutted the site to the southwest) was converted into a pedestrian plaza known as
Jeannette Park.
The space covers .
The park had existed adjacent to Coenties Slip since 1884, when it was dedicated to the exploration vessel
USS ''Jeannette'', but Paul Friedberg expanded the park in 1971 as part of 55 Water Street's construction.
Initially, 55 Water Street's owners were responsible for maintaining the park, which was paved in brick similar to the Elevated Acre plaza next to the building.
Plans to redevelop the land into a memorial for Vietnam War veterans were announced in 1982,
and it was rededicated as Vietnam Veterans Plaza in 1985.
The plaza was renovated and redesigned by
Lee S. Jablin of Harman Jablin Architects starting in 2000, and it was rededicated in 2001.
There is also an pedestrian arcade adjacent to Water Street and Vietnam Veterans Plaza. It effectively functions as an extension of the adjacent sidewalk.
A sloped canopy was added in the 1990s.
Elevated Acre
![Elevated Acre (01040p)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Elevated_Acre_%2801040p%29.jpg)
The elevated plaza is a
privately owned public space
Privately owned public space (POPS), or alternatively, privately owned public open spaces (POPOS), are terms used to describe a type of public space that, although Private property, privately owned, is legally required to be open to the public un ...
(POPS) known as the Elevated Acre. It is about above street level and accessible via escalators and stairs from Water Street,
between the building's two wings.
The plaza covers approximately .
The space is one of a few elevated POPS in New York City; similar plazas exist at One Bankers Trust Plaza, 300 East 59th Street, 622 Third Avenue, Murray Hill Mews, and
Trump Tower
Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...
. The creation of public space allowed the developers to increase the total square footage of 55 Water Street beyond what zoning regulations would otherwise have allowed on the site.
Beneath the plaza is a parking garage.
The Elevated Acre was originally proposed as part of an unbuilt network of elevated walkways and plazas next to the East River.
Lawrence Halprin
Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer and teacher.
Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist a ...
had devised the original plans for the plaza,
but
M. Paul Friedberg
M. Paul Friedberg, FASLA, (born 1931) is an American landscape architect.
Biography
M. Paul Friedberg was born in New York City where he attended Cornell University. In 1954 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. He said that "after n ...
& Associates carried out the final design.
The Elevated Acre was originally paved in the same red brick tiles as Jeannette Park. The plaza had very little ornamentation except for a set of curved brick walls, as well as some benches and trees.
There were also fountains and pools in the original design. During the 1980s, the Elevated Acre was often closed because, according to the building's owners at the time, the elevator and escalators were frequently being repaired.
Furthermore, the plaza was isolated, making it unattractive to pedestrians.
In the 2000s, the Elevated Acre was renovated to designs by
Rogers Marvel Architects and
Ken Smith,
reopening in 2005.
The two escalators and elevator on Water Street were replaced with four shorter escalators and a set of stairs. The new design contains a variety of plantings, grasses, and dunes, as well as a multi-tiered terrace. Inside the plaza is a lantern known as the Beacon of Progress, a reference to the former Seamen's Institute building on the site.
The Elevated Acre also includes an amphitheater with seven levels and a boardwalk made of Brazilian hardwood.
There is a restaurant named Sky55 adjacent to the plaza.
The original plans for the redesign had called for a 100-person capacity elevator and an ice rink, which were canceled for lack of funds.
The Elevated Acre is available for rental as a venue for special events.
Under an agreement with the New York City government, the Elevated Acre may be closed up to six times a year for community or non-profit events and six times a year for private events.
History
Development
![Financial_District,_New_York,_NY,_USA_-_panoramio_(7)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Financial_District%2C_New_York%2C_NY%2C_USA_-_panoramio_%287%29.jpg)
The Uris Buildings Corporation proposed erecting a 53-story building between Coenties Slip, Water Street, Old Slip, and South Street in October 1968.
It was the first project to be proposed as part of the Lower Manhattan Plan, a New York City governmental initiative to guide development along the
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
waterfront.
The
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
had considered leasing space at the building before it was officially announced, but the NYSE ultimately decided against doing so. In exchange for permission to close Cuylers Alley and Front Street for the construction of the new building, Uris proposed improving the adjacent Jeannette Park and erecting a raised public plaza within the new development.
The proposal required that the
New York City Planning Commission
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...
enact a zoning amendment in 1968, since elevated plazas could not rise more than above the curb.
In January 1969, the Board of Estimate approved Uris's proposal to construct an elevated pedestrian plaza alongside its building.
When construction started in 1969, developers estimated that the building's annual rents would range from .
The
Chemical Bank of New York
Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world.
Beginning ...
agreed in principle to lease in January 1969, in exchange for a 15 percent stake in the building. When the lease was finalized in late 1969 at a price of $250 million, it was the largest commercial lease ever executed. Brokerage firm
Dominick & Dominick
Dominick and Dickerman is an investment and merchant banking firm, located in New York City. From 1899 through to 2015, the firm was known as Dominick and Dominick. Following the sale of the wealth management business, the firm reverted to its ...
leased across five floors in March 1969, becoming the first tenant to finalize a lease at 55 Water Street. Two weeks later,
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The compa ...
leased on four floors.
During the building's construction, the chief engineers met every Monday to discuss the engineering difficulties of the site.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
and
Halle & Stieglitz collectively leased in May 1970, and the Interstate United Corporation subsequently leased space for a restaurant at the base of the building.
Workers raised a girder to the 53rd story of the tower section at a topping-out ceremony on June 18, 1971.
The same day, Uris announced that
Prudential Insurance
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both Investor#Retail_investor, retail and i ...
had agreed to place a $150 million loan on the building; it was the largest mortgage ever placed on a privately-developed structure.
In exchange, Prudential would acquire a 25 percent stake in the building's equity.
At the time, 70 percent of the office space had been leased.
The
Whitney Museum
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude ...
announced it would open a satellite location at 55 Water Street by the end of 1971.
According to Uris Buildings chairman
Percy Uris
Percy Uris (August 19, 1899 – November 20, 1971) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Harold Uris, the Uris Buildings Corporation.
Biography
Uris was born to a Jewish family, the son of Sad ...
, the branch "would contribute nicely to the feel of the building and the amenities it offers to people who work there".
A. G. Becker & Co. and NYSE subsidiary Stock Clearing Corporation leased additional space that November. Other early tenants included financial services firms
White Weld & Co., which took two floors,
and
G. H. Walker & Co., which leased one floor and part of another. Prudential granted a $130 million mortgage at the end of 1972. The building's construction was chronicled in ''55 Water Street'', a collection of short stories by Marjorie Iseman, which was published in 1982.
Opening and early years
55 Water Street was completed in 1972 with of rentable space, and tenants began moving into the structure at the beginning of that year.
55 Water Street was the largest speculative office development in Lower Manhattan for a decade, until
52 Broadway
52 Broadway, formerly known as the Exchange Court Building or Chemical Bank Building, is a high-rise building on Broadway and Exchange Place in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The building was originally built with 12 f ...
was developed in the 1980s. The building's completion coincided with a decline in demand for office space in New York City. Meanwhile, after
Percy Uris
Percy Uris (August 19, 1899 – November 20, 1971) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Harold Uris, the Uris Buildings Corporation.
Biography
Uris was born to a Jewish family, the son of Sad ...
had died in 1971, his brother
Harold
Harold may refer to:
People
* Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Harold (surname), surname in the English language
* András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold"
Arts a ...
began negotiating to sell off all his company's assets, including 55 Water Street.
National Kinney Corporation
National Kinney Corporation was a parking, property management services, and real estate development company based in New York City. It was established on August 7, 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets due to a f ...
had bought a majority stake in the Uris properties by late 1973, upon which a large portion of the office space was still vacant. National Kinney then sold a 25 percent stake in the building's ownership to the PIC Corporation; at the time, three-quarters of the building had been leased.
The Whitney Museum opened a branch museum on the third floor of the building in September 1973.
The branch occupied of sparsely designed gallery space.
The Whitney paid $1 a year; the operating cost was covered by 29 institutions or companies with offices in the Financial District.
The building's owners continued to experience financial issues,
and National Kinney placed 55 Water Street and ten other Uris properties for sale shortly after acquiring these buildings.
The creditors and mortgagee agreed in 1975 to postpone the collection of their claims until the building had more tenants and its cash flow improved.
Samuel J. LeFrak
Samuel J. LeFrak (February 12, 1918 – April 16, 2003) was an American real estate tycoon. He was a noted landlord who chaired a private building firm, the LeFrak Organization, which was ranked 45th on the ''Forbes'' list of top 500 private compa ...
expressed interest in buying 55 Water Street and most of the other Uris structures in 1976, as the buildings collectively contained four percent of Manhattan's office space. Simultaneously, Manufacturers Hanover planned to lease two additional floors and a mezzanine, provided that the city government approve a tunnel between 55 Water Street and the company's operations headquarters at the neighboring
4 New York Plaza.
LF Rothschild
L.F. Rothschild (later known as L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin) was a merchant bank, merchant and investment banking firm based in the United States and founded in 1899. The firm collapsed following the Black Monday (1987), 1987 stock mar ...
leased two floors in mid-1976.
Olympia & York ownership
![Water_St_Coenties_Slip_td_(2018-08-09)_01_-_55_Water_Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Water_St_Coenties_Slip_td_%282018-08-09%29_01_-_55_Water_Street.jpg)
National Kinney decided to sell off 55 Water Street and eight other Uris buildings in November 1976; at the time, the firm owned 51 percent of the building.
Olympia and York
Olympia & York (also spelled as Olympia and York, abbreviated as O&Y) was a major international property development firm based in Toronto, Canada. The firm built major financial office complexes including Canary Wharf in London, the World Fina ...
bought 55 Water Street in 1977 as part of a $50 million transaction involving several Uris properties. The transactions made the firm the largest commercial landlord in Manhattan.
Of the properties Olympia & York bought from National Kinney, only 55 Water Street still had a significant amount of vacant space, with still available for lease.
By the late 1970s, the vacancies at 55 Water Street and other nearby buildings in Lower Manhattan were being filled. During that time, the remaining space was leased by companies such as securities firm
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...
. By 1979, the building was fully leased; payment-services company
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
had leased the last large block of vacant space, covering across four stories.
By 1980, the valuation of 55 Water Street had increased drastically. Consequently, Whitney Museum was forced to relocate from its space in the building that year, since the owners wanted to rent out the museum space. At the time, the building housed the headquarters or offices of several large financial companies, including Lehman Brothers, L.F. Rothschild, Goldman Sachs, and Bear Stearns; some of these firms had their own dining rooms. In addition, the third story contained a restaurant called the Harbor Club. During this decade, Olympia and York obtained a $550 million
mortgage loan
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any p ...
in the form of a
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
offering.
Tenants such as L.F. Rothschild were subleasing their space by the late 1980s, although there were few potential lessees. The building had significant amounts of asbestos which, under an
anti-asbestos regulation passed in 1985, had to be removed before the space in the building could be subleased. Other firms, such as
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
, moved out of the building entirely. The building was refinanced with two bond issues in 1986, and pension fund
Retirement Systems of Alabama
Retirement Systems of Alabama is the administrator of the pension fund for employees of the state of Alabama. It is headquartered in the state capital Montgomery, Alabama. David G. Bronner is the chief executive officer.
Under Bronner's leader ...
(RSA) purchased 19.5 percent of the bonds for $100 million.
The financing included $435 million in interest-paying bonds and $113 million in
zero-coupon bonds
A zero coupon bond (also discount bond or deep discount bond) is a bond in which the face value is repaid at the time of maturity. Unlike regular bonds, it does not make periodic interest payments or have so-called coupons, hence the term zero- ...
.
The
1990s recession affected Olympia and York's finances, causing vacancy rates to increase.
The building was still the city's most valuable privately-owned office building, with an assessed valuation of about $280 million in 1990. By the next year, the leases on two-fifths of the building's office space were scheduled to expire within two years.
Credit rating agencies
A credit rating agency (CRA, also called a ratings service) is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor's ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default. An agency may ra ...
had downgraded their ratings of 55 Water Street's mortgage loan, which Olympia and York was having trouble paying off. Olympia and York met with its bondholders in May 1992 in an attempt to retain control of the building.
Olympia and York indicated that it would not be able to pay for asbestos removal, which would cost at least .
The building already had of vacant space at the time,
but the vacancy rate was to reach 50 percent by the end of the year. One financial executive said the building rapidly "went from being a premier financial services tower to bankrupt".
RSA ownership
1990s
![StandardPoors_Headquarters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/StandardPoors_Headquarters.JPG)
Olympia and York agreed in September 1992 to transfer ownership of the building to its bondholders in exchange for wiping out about $548 million in debt.
Each of the bondholders could swap their bonds for equity stakes in 55 Water Street or sell their bonds to RSA for cash.
To ensure that the building would be free of debt, RSA and the other creditors consented to a consensual bankruptcy filing if creditors chose to keep their bonds.
The proposed sale valued the building at only $149 million, even though the city had appraised the building as being worth $540 million. A subsidiary of Olympia and York filed for
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy protection in May 1993, allowing the buyers to perform an
equity swap
An equity swap is a financial derivative contract (a swap) where a set of future cash flows are agreed to be exchanged between two counterparties at set dates in the future. The two cash flows are usually referred to as "legs" of the swap; one of ...
. The purchase was finalized that October, essentially erasing all the building's debt.
RSA bought out most of the other creditors for about $120 million.
Following this purchase, RSA owned an 88 percent stake in the building, and there was $60 million on hand to pay for renovations.
At the time, the building was 65 percent occupied.
RSA created a subsidiary, the New Water Street Corporation, to operate and manage the building.
The new owners immediately appointed
Jones Lang Wootton
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is a global commercial real estate services company, founded in the United Kingdom with offices in 80 countries. The company also provides investment management services worldwide, including services to insti ...
as the building's leasing agent.
After acquiring the building, RSA planned to remove asbestos, upgrade the elevators, and add sprinklers to each floor.
RSA hired
Kohn Pedersen Fox
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...
to design cosmetic remodeling plans, and the pension fund spent over $20 million to remove asbestos from the building and install a back-up electrical system.
The cost of renovations had increased to $125 million
or $140 million by the mid-1990s. The building still had large amounts of vacant office space at the time, despite offering relatively low rents of around .
During this time, major tenants at 55 Water Street included the
Depository Trust Company
Depository Trust Company (DTC), founded in 1973, is a New York corporation that performs the functions of a central securities depository as part of the US National Market System. DTC annually settles transactions worth hundreds of trillions o ...
and the
Securities Industry Automation Corporation The Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) is a subsidiary of the NYSE Euronext. Its purpose is to provide technical services for the exchanges themselves, members and other financial institutions. In this role, SIAC provides the comput ...
.
In the years after RSA acquired the building, annual income frequently increased by more than 10 percent from year to year. RSA upgraded 55 Water Street's communication and electrical systems to attract tenants, advertising the building as the "Tower of Power". Much of the office space had been filled by 1997, when
Standard & Poor's
S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...
leased .
In addition, several other financial firms such as
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
and Goldman Sachs had expressed interest leasing space in the building.
The renovation of 55 Water Street was completed in 1999 at a cost of $156 million. At that point, the building was 100 percent occupied. About a third of the space was still occupied by Chemical Bank successor
Chase Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fina ...
, whose lease expired in 2003;
the bank planned to move out after its lease expired. Additionally, the owners were planning a renovation for the building's elevated plaza, as well as the public space next to Vietnam Veterans Plaza, both of which were underused.
2000s
In early 2001, Goldman Sachs considered constructing a 13-story, annex on the site of the Elevated Acre. The annex would have included seven large trading floors, each covering . In addition, the height of the north tower would have been increased by . The entire project would have cost $850 million and would have been completed in 2004. To compensate for the loss of public space, Goldman Sachs proposed paying for various improvements of public space nearby. The plans were dropped shortly after they were presented.
Goldman Sachs cited economic conditions, but some neighborhood residents had expressed opposition to the plan.
Following the cancellation of Goldman Sach's plans, RSA hired
Mary Ann Tighe
Mary Ann Tighe is an American commercial real estate broker and chief executive officer of the New York Tri-State Region of CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services firm. Tighe has made commercial transactions totaling more than ...
as the building's broker.
RSA and the
Municipal Art Society
The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city.
The organization was ...
sponsored a design competition for a renovation of the elevated plaza. In September 2002, RSA hired a joint venture of Ken Smith and Rogers Marvel Architects to redesign the plaza.
Following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001, the building's managers implemented security checkpoints in the lobby, resulting in rent increases for all tenants. To fill the empty space, the owners offered two years of free rent to new tenants.
HIP Health Plan of New York (later part of
EmblemHealth
EmblemHealth is one of the United States' largest nonprofit health plans. It is headquartered at 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is a multi-billion company with over 3 million members.
EmblemHealth was created in 2006 th ...
) leased the entire north building and part of the south building in 2003.
At the time, it was the largest corporate relocation to Lower Manhattan since the September 11 attacks.
Simultaneously, the Teachers' Retirement System of New York City also rented at the building. The Elevated Acre plaza was rededicated in 2005 following a renovation.
The
New York City Department of Transportation
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Departm ...
leased more than in 2006, and publishing company
Bowne & Co. also leased space.
2010s to present
During the early 21st century,
CBRE Group
CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reven ...
became the leasing agent.
On October 29, 2012, the building sustained
damage
Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...
related to
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
when a storm surge flooded the area. The basement levels were severely damaged, and the emergency generators on the roof could not operate because they were powered by pumps in the basement.
The building remained closed for several weeks due to flooding. While repairs were being conducted, a fire broke out on November 23, causing injuries to 27 people. To prepare for future storms, the building's owner planned to relocate electrical equipment from the basement to the third floor. In 2014, Plaza Construction installed a flood barrier system around the building; when activated, the flood walls could protect against an surge.
McGraw Hill Financial
S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American Public company, publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of busi ...
moved its headquarters to 55 Water Street in June 2015, and
Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...
moved its North American headquarters there the same year. By 2018, RSA earned $155 million in rental income annually, and the building was worth an estimated $1.5 billion. In 2019, software company Justworks announced it would be moving into on four floors, and the Teachers' Retirement System of New York City subleased a portion of one floor. MJHS Health System leased in March 2022, the largest lease to be finalized in lower Manhattan in 18 months.
Reception
When the building was completed, architectural critic
Ada Louise Huxtable
Ada Louise Huxtable (née Landman; March 14, 1921 – January 7, 2013) was an architecture critic and writer on architecture. Huxtable established architecture and urban design journalism in North America and raised the public's awareness of the ...
called the building "a significant demonstration of how to stop worrying and love the boom" in office development.
Huxtable also wrote that the building's elevated plaza was "a skillful job in urban design".
By contrast, in 1981,
Paul Goldberger
Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''.
Biography
Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...
described 55 Water Street, along with many skyscrapers on
Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...
in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
, as having been "designed by commercial architectural firms which admitted to few interests beyond the quick and efficient creation of rentable space".
According to Goldberger, these types of buildings used common materials such as concrete and glass, creating edifices that "added little either visually or socially to the life of the city".
The ''
AIA Guide to New York City
The ''AIA Guide to New York City'' by Norval White, Elliot Willensky, and Fran Leadon is an extensive catalogue with descriptions, critique and photographs of significant and noteworthy architecture throughout the five boroughs of New York City. ...
'' described the north building as resembling "a complicated cell phone tower".
In addition, the
New York-New York Hotel and Casino
New York-New York Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International, and is designed to evoke New York City in its architectur ...
in
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...
, contains a 36-story replica of 55 Water Street.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in New York City
New York City, the most populous city in the United States, is home to over 7,000 completed high-rise buildings of at least , of which at least 95 are taller than . The tallest building in New York is One World Trade Center, which rises ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Emporis
{{Portal bar, Architecture, New York City
1972 establishments in New York City
Emery Roth buildings
Financial District, Manhattan
Office buildings completed in 1972
Privately owned public spaces
Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan