Construction teams at TSX Broadway, a mixed-use hotel tower at 1568 Broadway in Times Square, have begun work on the lifting of the Palace Theatre. The historic venue is being hoisted 30 feet above street level to make way for ground-floor retail space.
Developed in partnership by L&L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment Group, the project required the partial demolition of the DoubleTree Suites, which was built above the Palace Theatre, a playhouse originally constructed in 1913, then remodeled in 1988. The team recognized the rich history of the theater and devised a complex preservation and engineering maneuver to retain the property, while also maximizing the development’s return on investment through the creation of a new retail corridor below.
View of the construction site beneath the Palace Theatre at TSX Broadway
A member of the construction team servicing a hydraulic post below the Palace Theatre at TSX Broadway
View of the hydraulic lift system below the Palace Theatre at TSX Broadway
Demolition of the hotel’s 16th through 46th floors was completed in last year. The team then added a sub-cellar level below the basement, removed the theater’s existing foundation, and installed a new foundation to support the structure. To raise the theater, the team also installed a lifting system consisting of 34 massive hydraulic posts to slowly raise the space 30 feet above its resting position.
The theater will be lifted straight up and the new hotel will continue to be built around it. Eventually the void below the theater will house hotel lobby and entry spaces, food and beverage retailers, some back-of-house theater operations, and shopping destinations.
PBDW Architects is the design studio responsible for coordinating the historic theater lift and preservation. The project team for TSX Broadway also includes architects Perkins Eastman and Mancini Duffy, Sensory Interactive for illuminated signage and branding, and general contractor Pavarini McGovern.
The 46-story tower will eventually comprise 550,000 square feet and is expected to debut early 2023. Total construction costs exceed $2.5 billion.
The new LED wrap-around signage on 1568 Broadway across from the TKTS staircase. Rendering courtesy of L&L Holding Company
1568 Broadway, Rendering courtesy of ARX Solutions
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
How are patrons going to go up three flights? Is this ADA acceptable? Everyone is going to have to take elevators now?
Something tells me they thought of that.
Very interesting.
This is a very cool project, although it’s hard to believe it makes sense financially. All this to gain street level space that will probably be occupied by a tourist-oriented theme restaurant?
It does seem like a monumental task
…or a great location for Covid testing.