Engineering Inc - January/February 2018 - 25

MULTI PROJECT
The renamed Boyce Thompson
Center features state-of-the-art
commercial, medical office and
retail space while retaining the
architectural style and historic
fabric of the original structure.

New Life
for an Old
Treasure
PROJECT: BOYCE THOMPSON
CENTER, YONKERS, NEW YORK
FIRM: THORNTON TOMASETTI,
NEW YORK

fter sitting vacant for nearly 40
years, the redeveloped Boyce
Thompson Center on the northwest side of Yonkers, New York,
opened earlier this year as an 85,000-squarefoot, Class A mixed-use complex. Built in
the 1920s as the Boyce Thompson Institute
for Plant Research, the facility originally
consisted of a 50,000-square-foot, threestory federal-style brick laboratory and eight
interconnected greenhouses on 6.5 acres.
The building fell into disrepair after it was
abandoned in 1978 when the institute
moved to Cornell University.
The city held out hope for a redevelopment plan that would renovate the historic
structure, rather than lead to its demolition.
Finally, with such a plan in hand, Simone
Development acquired the crumbling, overgrown, graffiti-covered property in 2015.
Simone hired Thornton Tomasetti to
perform a condition assessment for the $35

"We had to make sure we
million adaptive reuse projdidn't damage the existing
ect. The assessment included
building," Gerasopoulos said.
the masonry façades, roof
Michael Gerasopoulos
"Although the new building's
and structures, and led to the
foundations had to go down
design of structural alterato rock, the existing building's foundations
tions, and restoration of the existing builddidn't-they were supported on soil."
ing envelope.
Thornton Tomasetti worked closely
"After walking the building, we determined that the actual structure was in pretty with the geotechnical engineer, GZA
GeoEnvironmental, Inc., to develop a plan
good shape, despite the external appearance," said Michael Gerasopoulos, associate
using drilled-in mini piles to support the
principal with Thornton Tomasetti.
new building foundations. That approach
With limited documentation of the
avoided the need to underpin the existing
existing structure, numerous probes and
foundation, and keeping the new mini piles
material testing were required to identify
at least 6.5 feet from the main building also
the building's structural components. Engiavoided any settlement during pile instalneers also investigated the existing struclation. A series of concrete grade beams
tural framing and prepared as-built plans
designed to cantilever past the pile caps supthat were used in preparing the contract
ports the new building columns that abut
documents.
the main building.
Thornton Tomasetti provided the
Today, the renamed and newly renovated
structural design of a new 18,000-squarecomplex features state-of-the-art commerfoot, steel-framed building and link to
cial, medical office and retail space while
retaining the architectural style and historic
the existing structure, as well as a new
fabric of the original structure. ■
15,000-square-foot stand-alone, steelframed building with a glass curtain wall
Tom Klemens is a freelance writer based near
façade. Developing foundations for these
Chicago and is a registered Professional Enginew structures posed another challenge.
neer in Illinois.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018 ENGINEERING INC.

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