Garden Street Lofts Deliver in Hoboken

Garden Street Lofts Delivers in Hoboken
Del-Sano, Bijou Complete $16.8M Redevelopment, Aim for LEED Silver
By Andrew Deichler

Del-Sano Contracting Corp. has finished construction on Garden Street Lofts, which is poised to become Hoboken's first LEEDcertified residential building. The $16.8 million project began with a 42,888-square-foot former coconut-processing warehouse at 158 14th St. Del-Sano built a
seven story, 35,054-square-foot addition, which is linked to the original facility at the fifth floor level. Garden Street Lofts includes 30 residential condominiums, which are already 50 percent sold, as well as 7,500 square feet of ground floor retail space. The 77,942-square-foot property is in the Hudson Waterfront submarket.
Del-Sano and owner Bijou Properties LLC have put more than two years into the redevelopment, and are aiming for LEED silver certification. "It took years of effort by some of the best and freshest minds in the industry to create a model for sustainable residential development that offers comfort, style and beauty, while being sensitive to the impact on the environment," said Larry Bijou of Bijou Properties. Del-Sano Contracting Corp. is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and specializes in LEED-registered construction projects.
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NY Daily News Garden Street Lofts Article

Garden Street Lofts
BY Jason Sheftell DAILY NEWS REAL ESTATE CORRESPONDENT
Smith for News
Garden Street Lofts
Handschuh/News
http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2009/02/20/2009-02-20_garden_street_lofts.html?page=0

As the story goes, when developer Lawrence Bijou petitioned the Hoboken zoning board about variances to transform a 1919 coconut processing plant on 14th and Garden Sts. into a LEED-certified green building with a zinc-clad addition hanging over the top of the existing structure, they looked confused. “Why are you doing all this?” one zoning official asked, making it clear that Hoboken had never seen anything like it. Bijou, a veteran of New York City real estate who moved to New Jersey in 2003 after deciding to make Hoboken the recipient of his vision for green building, made a quick joke, and then said, “Because I have to.”
What he meant, what every developer dead serious about changing the way we live means, is that this is the only way to build if we want to protect our own health and the health of our environment. What Bijou didn’t have to do, but did anyway, was source Ipe wood from Bolivia, bamboo floors from China, find the exact kind of cobblestone to refurbish the street out front, completely restore the coconut plant’s exterior to its original beige brick coloring, and hire one of New York City’s top architecture firms to design the building inside and out. “By now, we should all know that green is the future of building,” says Bijou, who walks prospective buyers around the building himself. “My goal is to actually do it. This is my first project of this magnitude and I wanted the best.” While I’ve heard that from most developers, I haven’t heard it confirmed by most architects. Gregg Pasquarelli of Sharples, Holden and Pasquarelli (SHoP Architects) actually took the job because of Bijou’s vision and integrity. “Every time we came up with something, Larry [Bijou] asked if it could be done better,” says Pasquarelli. “We designed a similar building called the Porterhouse in the Meatpacking District. Repeating styles was not the direction we wanted to go in as a firm. But Larry’s commitment to sustainability and great design made this project different.” Bijou, sitting in the construction trailer across the street from his building, wears sweaters, jeans and construction boots. He’s as honest a person as you could meet. When asked about the Val Cucina custom-made eco-friendly kitchens, Dornbracht faucets imported from Germany, Miele dishwashers, and the air-filtration system pumping clean air into each unit, he half-grimaces. “There’s a downside to doing anything for the first time and wanting it to be really good,” he says. “I just let these architects go, and they just went. I was writing check after check for higher- end product after higher-end product.”

The result is New Jersey’s first LEED-certified silver condominium and already the recipient of a national green award. It’s also one of Hoboken’s most interesting structures. As you approach the 29-unit boutique development from Washington St. to the east, the pale zinc outer shell of the building appears to grab the brick structure in a bite or pinch. Small brown square openings, lined in Ipe wood, peer at you like eyes. These are apartment terraces. Architect Pasquarelli calls them “cocoons.” Wrapped in dark wood, they feel like hunting lodges in the city.
Inside, the apartments in the 42,888-square-foot five-story original building are lofts, with each floor having a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom. Linked by hallways and the same elevators to the older building, the apartments in the seven-story 35,054-square-foot newer structure are oversized two-bedrooms. Two duplex penthouses on the upper floors have giant terraces with corner hot tubs. “If these apartments were in Tribeca, they would be four times the price,” says Irene ­Perello, a longtime Hoboken agent with Hudson Place Realty, who has the exclusive on Garden Street Lofts. “We have 1,140-square-foot one-bedrooms for $675,000. I’d put this quality up against any Manhattan project.” If the building has a knock on it, it’s that its back abuts an above-ground parking facility. Buyers don’t mind, says Perello, as back-of-building units sold quickly.
Closings in the building began last month. Vince Visceglia and Caroline Russo spent the second night in the building with their 20-month-old son. They looked all over Hoboken, including brownstones, row houses and larger condominiums, before deciding on Garden Street Lofts.
“Green wasn’t a consideration before we saw this,” says Russo. “Now, it’s part of our lives. The final decision was based on design and finishes, though. Everything feels top-of-the-line.”
Her husband, who had his heart set on living in the suburbs, says the couple’s decision to stay in Hoboken became clear as they understood more about living green. “We can’t protect our son from everything bad that’s in the air,” says Russo, “but here we created a safe haven that is a cutting-edge non-toxic environment.” Today, in front of the building, Hoboken city workers repair cobblestone streets using stone Bijou purchased so the new street matched the old. Inside, technicians from Del-Sano Contracting Corp., a Union, N.J.-based general contracting company, put finishing touches on the lobby and 8,100-square-foot retail space. Bijou Properties, helmed by Bijou with help from Dave Gaber, still seeks a tenant for the space.

“It’s big enough for an Apple store,” says Gaber, a recent NYU-real estate master’s graduate. “If Williamsburg can have one, why shouldn’t we?” Bijou is just getting started in Hoboken. He refurbished a commercial building across the street from Garden Street Lofts, leasing retail to a New York Sports Club, a bank and a pharmacy. He also owns a lot across the street, waiting on financing before building a high-performance green mini-tower with microturbines to ease electrical output, solar panels and 400-car fully-robotic gargage, another New Jersey first.
“We’re working to put a charter school in the tower and generate our own electricity,” he says. “I came to Hoboken because of its proximity to New York, the better views, and the fact everyone who lives here loves this city.” Acquiring land is what Bijou Properties does. Over a one-year period, it acquired more than 10 warehouse properties along Hoboken’s 15th and 16th Sts. Initially wanting to develop these blocks into restoration projects, it sold the land to a national developer. Armed with capital, it completed Garden Street Lofts and bought waterfront property on the Hoboken side of the Hudson. “Originally, I just wanted to restore old buildings and add character to these streets,” says Bijou. “Hoboken is a young city with very intelligent, future-minded people. An investment in green is an investment in their future. They know that and so do we.”

http://www.delsano.com/

From Coconuts to Condominiums

From Coconuts To Condominiums
Del-Sano Contracting has turned a former coconut storage facility for the Hostess Corporation into luxury condominiums and retail space in Hoboken, NJ.
By Jim Romeo -- Constructioneer

The Coconut Building in Hoboken, NJ, once served as a coconut storage facility for theproduction of Hostess snack cakes. Today, half of the original building has been demolished and the other halfhas been renovated to make way for the recently completed Garden Lofts, a 30-unit luxury
condominium building with 7,500 square feet of retail space on the ground level. The entire projectis Silver LEED certified. The $16,800,000 project was managed by Union, NJ-based Del-Sano Contracting Corporation for Bijou Properties, LLC. It began in November 2006 and incorporated cost-saving measures to keep the project on schedule and on budget. Despite the many challenges of the project, it was completed in December 2008. "The project developer envisioned and desired a LEED-certified Silver accreditation," says Angelo Del Russo, founder and CEO of Del-Sano Contracting. "The construction cost-saving efforts were realized through careful selection of construction means and methods and creative building system constructability within the restrictions of the lot size."
Del Russo explains that the cost savings mostly related to production, including sophisticated
testing methods. "During design development, the construction and design team requested a ...
'Geo Physical In Situ Shear Wave Velocity Test' to determine the seismic class," he explains. "The testing resulted in cost savings in the range of $250,000 for the developer in several structural design systems — not the least of which was the fire suppression system's secondary water source requirements."
The building's lower-level floor elevation was raised to reduce the depth of construction yet
maintain a functional ceiling height and diminish the need to excavate the rock sub grade. This
resulted in cost savings of $175,000. Approximately 50 percent of the Coconut Building was demolished, making way for the renovation and new construction. "The existing Coconut Building structure required surgical demolition of the concrete cast in-place roof and reinforced concrete beams," says Del Russo. "The concrete roof deck, beams and the bearing walls were
poured monolithically together and integrated with the perimeter building walls. The
demolition took place after chipping the concrete deck with multiple pneumatic
jackhammers and diamond saw cutting the reinforced beams from the bearing points.
After the deck was removed, the end-cut reinforced concrete beams were lassoed with
construction-grade safety slings, lifted by crane, and guided safely down to wait
recycling."
Del Russo points out that this careful deconstruction "saved demolition time and
allowed for pulverizing and recycling in mass at the recycling facility. The savings on the overall demolition portion of the project was in the range of $85,000. The procedure was handled meticulously without injury to the workmen or impairing the safety of the pedestrians below."
Because the loading dock of the Coconut Building was positioned between the adjacent St. Louis
building and the Hudson Tea five-story parking structure project, which has yet to be constructed, the project team made the decision to proceed with the demolition of this loading dock prior to starting the parking deck structure.
"The early start would allow for safer crane access and minor infringement on the 14th Street
thoroughfare, as well as limit police protection and labor downtime," explains Del Russo. "Crane
access to the Garden Street pedestrian walkway limited crane downtime and allowed the
demolition to proceed uninterrupted to completion, about four weeks later. The savings to the
project demolition budget was in the tens of thousands."
The perimeter triple wythe masonry walls at the fifth floor level were secured in place by shoring jacks and angles specially designed to maintain the walls' lateral stability. The method allowed the integrity of the wall and structure for restoration and rehabilitation to remain intact. The building façade remained minimally compromised during the demolition phase with little reconstruction needed.
The renovation and new addition posed challenges as well as the demolition. "The new building
addition is attached to the Coconut Building structure and will increase the overall building squarefoot area by 35,054 (square feet)," explains Del Russo. "The addition is a seven-story steel framed structure (with) concrete decks, metal-framed curtain wall and a zinc façade. The new addition will rise seven floors alongside, and with two levels over the top of, the existing structure." Del Russo adds, "The Coconut Building was vacant and clean inside with minimal deterioration of the finishes. The previous owners had left the sprinkler system operational, the electricity on and the heat functioning. The building roof was in reasonable shape to minimize penetration of the elements. The structure did have some stress and time-related cracking of the concrete members."
The garden roof on Garden Lofts will contribute to its Silver LEED certification.
According to Del Russo, the building fenestration was operable and very functional for a vacant
building, and the exterior façade and support members had endured the stress of the environment as well as time deterioration. "The façade was in need of rebuilding and restoration," he says. "The property and walks had endured years with minimal maintenance and were in need of replacement. The building had two freight elevators and both were not operating when the demolition got under way. The basement endured moisture and water levels that required continual pumping. There were numerous sump pumps strategically placed throughout the basement level." The existing building was constructed on spread footings, rock, dense soil, and concrete pier footings, and the basement floor had its share of deterioration and settlement cracking. However, the footing and foundations were surveyed and given a clean bill of health from the project's structural engineer.
The total project took place in six phases. Phase one entailed the abatement of the roof asbestos
membrane. Phase two included the demolition of the loading dock addition structure and protection of the neighbors' exposed building wall. Phase three involved the shoring and temporary protection of various elements of the existing Coconut Building structure in preparation of the surgical demolition of the existing building. Phase four incorporated the building addition excavation, footing and foundation work. Phase five started the internal building demolition, and phase six allowed the demolition and construction to begin in earnest and sequenced for all disciplines.
"The building phase was quite interesting," says Del Russo. "The construction team decided to first survey the existing building vertically for plumb and dimensional coordination. The concrete and steel framed construction was to take place at the very early stages of the project. The steel structure was probably the more tedious and time-consuming segment of the building construction. After the anchor bolts were set, they were surveyed and each floor elevation was set to coordinate with the steel drawings, and the openings were to be created from the existing building to the new." The building's façade was another crucial element in the construction process. "The façade was covered with a zinc veneer rain screen. The façade substrate was covered with a self-seal vapor and moisture barrier. The integrity of the system required impeccable attention to detail and scrutiny of the installation in an effort to minimize breaks in that product's assembly integrity. The building fenestration, the details for adjacent materials, as well as integral joining of all the products required constant checking and proofing of the technical application," adds Del Russo.
The design development, site reconnaissance, planning, and design development spanned about
18 months leading up to the start of the abatement and demolition. Despite a complex demolition, renovation and addition, the greatest challenges of the project were elsewhere. According to Del Russo, the collecting and gathering of information for their LEED certification was actually the most challenging for his firm. "The LEED accreditation system and systems commissioning were major challenges to achieve, with impeccable management and documentation of the credits," he says. "An additional challenge was the need to minimize the installation dilemmas to make the mechanical systems commissioning seamless. The project is registered as LEED Silver, and will be one of the first LEED luxury high-rise buildings in northeast New Jersey."

http://www.delsano.com/

Scottrade Del-Sano Write-Up

http://research.scottrade.com/public/markets/news/news.asp?docKey=100-056k3490-1&section=headlines

www.delsano.com