Cheers to the Malt Drive Towers
An architect's rendering reveals what the completed Malt Drive towers will look like standing across the East River from Manhattan. The complex will house thousands of residents and many businesses.
Concrete design in large building construction today is a complex artform that must employ new technologies and materials to execute the challenging visions created by architectural designers. Today’s high rises must not only be structurally unquestionable and environmentally responsible, they also often seek to provoke soulful inspiration.
No builders understand and rise to these challenges better than New York City’s cement and concrete union contractors, whose stellar work surrounds us every day. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) is a professional trade organization that scrutinizes new concrete projects and awards the most exceptional efforts with their ACI Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards.
The Queens Revitalization Continues
One project currently in consideration by ACI is the tri-tower complex being developed in Hunter’s Point Queens by the builder TF Cornerstone. The all-new three tower development is being built on the grounds that once housed a Budweiser plant, and the new road that divides the north and south areas of the construction site is appropriately named Malt Drive.
Malt Drive is the latest large multi-purpose construction complex that union builders are bringing to Queens to enhance business and residential life. Like much of the recent union work in the city, Malt Drive is both huge and quite innovative.
Malt Drive is a prime example of the tradition of unions enriching the communities that their buildings become part of.
A Massive Project
This project is enormous. The lot is large, but oddly shaped, with one wider end at the northwest side that tapers to a narrow point on the southeast side. It’s a wedge. To take advantage of this space, the architects, decided to divide the complex into a north and a south block. The wider north block will consist of two towers, 26 and 39 floors respectively, that will stand over a shared rectangular podium. The tapering south block will contain a single 34-story tower rising from a triangular podium that will also house a landscaped courtyard and an outdoor pool.
When completed the Malt Drive towers will offer 1,386 apartments, 30% of which will be affordable housing, contain 25,000 square feet of retail space and present more than 1.4 million square feet of real estate.
The developer chose union contractor Civetta Cousins JV, LLC Excavation and Foundation to do the massive foundation job. The superstructure erected on each block was each run by separate contractors. All-in-all the union crews excavated nearly 60 tons of earth, poured more than 21,000 cubic tons of concrete, and used nearly 1,900 tons of rebar in the effort. The schedule was aggressive, and the construction teams employed the union-perfected two-day cycles (one floor completed every two days) for all towers.
Design Challenges
A variety of concrete strengths had to be formulated to meet the exacting demands of this complicated project. The support needs ranged from as low as 4,000 psi to as much as 9,800 psi — an abnormally wide range. Additional modifications were made for the more exposed concrete areas, such as parking slabs, roofs, and bulkheads, where crystalline waterproofing and corrosion inhibitors were used to prolong the life of the structure.
Because the site is located on the shore of Newtown Creek where it meets the East River, dealing with flood concerns was a priority. The ground floor residential units are built above the flood plane and the street level retail slabs are designed to resist hydrostatic uplift pressures.
Wind was also a concern because of the unique geometry of the buildings. Wind tunnel studies were conducted for all towers. Column transfers were required and implemented. Due to limited story heights and required terrace drops, beam depths were limited to maintain headroom. Structural strength and serviceability requirements were satisfied using higher strength concretes and walking columns.
A Jewel on the Water
“The launch of leasing at 2-20 Malt Dr. comes with a real sense of pride as we continue to build on our tradition of Class A construction, stellar management and a commitment to enhancing and enriching the communities our buildings become part of,” TF Cornerstone Principal and Senior Vice President Zoe Elghanayan said. “Malt Drive is a prime example of that tradition. After more than two decades of developing and contributing to the Long Island City waterfront, we’re excited to keep growing alongside the Hunter’s Point South community.”
Unions continue to bring reliably built, relevant structures to New York City that improve our economy and provide safe living for untold generations.
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