Best Interior/Tenant Improvement: NYMEX Office Building

Following a merger with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) enlisted developer Brookfield Office Properties to purchase and redesign their existing building at One North End in downtown Manhattan. The project, similar to a project commissioned by CME in Chicago in 2008, included redevelopment of the base building and a renovation of the floors used by CME and NYMEX.

While infrastructure and HVAC upgrades were made to floors two through six, the larger renovations were done to the NYMEX-occupied seventh and eighth floors of the building, and a ninth floor was constructed. The area was turned into an open office environment and is a column free space, with new windows, under floor cooling and an eighth floor mezzanine. The view overlooks the Hudson River. Other work included the opening of multiple windows, demolition of two kitchens that were then repurposed as office space, a fire alarm system replacement and sub-metering of electric power.

The project faced several obstacles during construction, most notably the fact that two separate design teams were working in the building simultaneously. For the upgrades done to the structure as a whole, Brookfield Properties enlisted Fujikawa, Johnson and Gobel Architects—which had worked on a previous CME project done in Chicago—as well as the building’s original structural engineer Ysrael A. Seinuk and MEP engineer Robert Derector. CME/NYMEX utilized architect CannonDesign and contractor Turner Construction Co., firms with long-standing relationships with NYMEX.

Despite the added challenge of working while the building remained operational, the 170,000-sq-ft project was completed in 10 months. The project has been a benefit to all participants, with Brookfield Office Properties gaining a significant addition to their portfolio with 14 floors of leasable office space and CME/NYMEX reducing their “real estate footprint” while renovating the seven floors of the building that they retained.