A new condominium building is taking shape on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Developed by Extell Development and designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, the Kent is located at 200 East 95^th street, and will stand 30 stories tall when completed. The 315,000-sq-ft building will feature 83 luxury units and 21 affordable units. Extell has declined to comment on the value of the project.

Working on large projects in busy areas comes with a particular set of challenges, namely how to mitigate disturbances to the thriving urban area in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner.

Construction manager Gilbane Building Co. was tasked with minimizing disruptions to the busy surrounding neighborhood. The firm used “a cantilevered roof protection system to avoid accessing the roof of the existing building next door,” says Bill Gilbane III, the firm’s Senior Vice President. “Gilbane also positioned the hoist inside the footprint of the building, which was economical and allowed the original sidewalk on Third Avenue to stay open and did not require diversion of pedestrian traffic.”

In place of a standard tower crane, a spider crane was implemented for the project. “Some of the benefits of using a spider crane are that they don’t require additional permitting or jump scheduling; they function completely within the footprint of the building; and they can be brought down in an average hoist car,” says Gilbane. “Spider cranes also don’t need to be tied to the building, which normally restricts the façade closure, and the engineering required for loads is limited.” The use of the spider crane in place of a tower crane reduced costs 60-70% while maintaining equal levels of safety and efficiency.

The project broke ground in May 2015 and completion is expected by the end of the first quarter in 2018.