Sven (Queens Plaza Park)

Hunter Roberts performed pre-construction and construction management services for The Durst Organization for their newest 66-story, 730’ mixed-use building in Long Island City, New York. This project includes a new 940-unit residential tower with affordable housing (300 units), amenity spaces such as an outdoor pool, first-level retail spaces, half-acre public park, and a renovated entrance to the Queens Plaza subway station. The curtain wall permits the south façade glass to change tint using an electronically activated film placed in the window system.

Sven is the only LEED v4 BD+C: New Construction Multifamily Platinum certified structure in existence. In addition, Sven is the largest LEED v4 BD+C: New Construction Platinum certified project in the world.

The project includes the adaptive reuse of the Landmarked Bank of Manhattan building with the historic Clock Tower. The project team provided protection and restoration of the Landmarked building while coordinating logistics with the residential tower.

The logistics were extremely complicated as the site is bordered by the elevated and underground subway trains on the east side and the north side by the East Side Access project, which was under construction by the MTA and will extend the Long Island Rail Road from its main line in Queens to a new terminal under Grand Central Station in Manhattan.