Posted Jun 10, 2011, 4:38 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 878
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Ew, what???!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote:
$1M hole in the wall
Conde blows dough on 1 WTC cooking vent
Conde Nast spent millions when it hired Frank Gehry to design its cafeteria in its current headquarters at 4 Times Square -- but the big bucks spent on its upcoming move to 1 World Trade Center will be used for something a little bit different.
The glitzy publishing giant is spending up to $1 million for a huge ventilation shaft that will poke through the façade of the north face of the glass tower at 1 WTC so that the Condé Nast cafeteria can have its own exhaust outlet, rather than tie in to the central flue used by the rest of the tenants that will run up the center of the building.
It was said to be the source of contentious negotiations between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the publishing empire headed by the billionaire Chairman S.I. Newhouse, Jr.
At one point, Newhouse and Chief Operating Officer John Bellando, who was handling the negotiations, threatened to walk away from the project.
The reason for the rhubarb was that the city building codes had been tightened up and would require far more inspections and cleaning of the venting system to prevent a fire hazard. A vent running straight to the outside would not have the same costly requirements.
The new Condé cafeteria is expected to take up at least half a floor in the new building and may also house test kitchens for Bon Appétit and the Gourmet Cookbook. The press was given a preview of the still-active construction site at the signing ceremony last month. The southerly view will overlook the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial and command striking views of New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty.
Originally, Condé Nast wanted to blast through the shortest distance and out the southern wall, which some sources felt would have marred the aesthetics of the sheer glass façade overlooking the memorial.
The vent will be huge, about one story high and up to 25 feet wide, and would be visible from the ground. Sources said that originally PA Executive Director Chris Ward was going to nix the special exhaust vent, but eventually agreed to let Condé Nast have a special vent. However, it had to be on the north side, which will point toward Midtown.
"There was quite a bit of back and forth," said one insider.
Last month, Condé signed a $1.9 billion, 25-year lease for 1 million square feet to house over 3,000 employees. The Durst Organization, which owns the present Condé Nast headquarters building in Times Square, also bought a 10 percent stake in 1 WTC and pres sured the PA to bow to Condé's demands.
Ward low-keyed the be hind-the-scenes debate but acknowledged, "In order to accommodate them, we altered the ventilation system." Asked for the cost, he estimated "a couple of hundred thousand, maybe a million. It was all handled in the lease."
The design of the panel was open to debate. Originally, the plan was to just poke through and cover it with an unsightly metal grate. "It would have looked like something that you picked up at Home Depot," grumbled one source.
Now, the new system will have glass panels specially cut to allow air to pass through to louvers connected to a vent in back of the glass.
But one source said that now that the PA has caved in to one tenant's demands, the worry is that other future tenants will start demanding similar concessions. The Chinese trade group that was the first tenant has so far expressed no problem with connection to the central flue system.
"Hopefully, it won't evolve into multiple acne spots all over the building's façade," said one insider.
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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...#ixzz1OtV3Lk6k
Last edited by 599GTO; Jun 10, 2011 at 5:16 PM.
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