If you've ever lost at Jenga by removing a block, you'll appreciate what the developers have accomplished at the TSX Broadway hotel and entertainment complex in Times Square.
The bottom floors of the building were loosened and lifted 30 feet without causing any damage.
The elevated section is not just any old section. The Palace Theater is a home for Broadway shows and was designed by the architectural firm. The theater, which weighs 14 million pounds, is a protected landmark, meaning that it had to be moved without the risk of a crack in the plasterwork ceilings, arches and box seats.
It has been quite a feeling to see it happen, according to Anthony J. Mazzo, the president of Urban Foundation/Engineering, who invented the system of jacks and beams 30 years ago.
The project was full of risks, from possible damage to the ornate interior to the chance that the entire theater would crash to the ground. It was a crucial part of the transformation of the building, which will include a 661-room hotel and an outdoor stage when it opens next year.
The Palace has been on the ground floor of West 47th Street and Broadway since 1913 and has drawn hundreds of visitors every week to see musicals.
Times Square's annual retail rents are typically among the nation's highest. In the spring of 2020, the area drew just 35,000 visitors a day. The Times Square Alliance, a coalition that works to improve and promote the district, says the number has climbed to 300,000.
Daily business updates The latest coverage of business, markets and the economy, sent by email each weekday.L&L Holding made arrangements with the theater's owner to elevate the Palace and fill the void with three floors of new shopping space. The theater will have a new entrance on West 47th.
David Orowitz, an L&L, said that it was important for the theater to be lifted to create the space, but also to help it become a modern building.
The Urban Foundation had a plan. The Empire Theater on West 42nd Street was rolled in 1998 as part of a plan to make way for stores. The AMC Empire is a movie theater with 25 screens.
The Empire was half the weight of the Palace. The Empire had to be raised a few inches because the tracks used to move it were sunk into the ground.
The Palace's upward journey might be familiar to anyone who has ever changed a tire by using a jack or frame rack.
The theater was strengthened by adding a six-foot-thick concrete layer around the edge of the base and then sinking 34 columns into the Manhattan bedrock beneath it. Smaller beams that could move up and down like telescope parts were fitted into the columns. Four jacks that looked like paint cans with arms extended up were placed under the beams.
When the jacks were turned on, they pushed the theater with them. After the jacks were raised five inches, workers stopped the lift, secured the theater, adjusted the collars and fastened the jacks with bolts to restart the process.
When the Palace cleared 16 feet, the lift project was paused so workers could build new floors in the space, which helped to support the theater.
A small group of people in a plywood shack with their eyes on monitors in the theater watched the movie. Robert Israel, an executive vice president of L&L who worked on the project, said a slight tilt less than half a degree would have been enough for a hard stop.
The demolition of the old Doubletree Hotel above the theater and the construction of a new foundation are two of the complicating aspects of the project.
The tower added in the late 1980s could have meant a reduction in square footage for the final product. If a renovation project keeps a quarter of its floor space in place, it can preserve its original square footage.
L&L had to keep the concrete slabs from the 16th story down in order to ensure that the size of the building remained the same.
This is by far the most complex project that L&L has ever undertaken, Mr. Israel said as he stood in a dim, cool space beneath the Palace.
The theater reached its final height on April 5, and was celebrated a month later with a media event that included city officials, L&L executives and Broadway producers.
The Palace was one of Broadway's oldest theaters. A 1987 report from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission states that the owner of the theater installed an electric piano in the lobby to compete with the popular nearby Roxy. The lobby, which was made over in the 1930s, 1960s and 1980s, never received landmark status and was demolished.
The Palace was a movie theater for RKO Pictures in the middle of the 20th century and was also home to acts like Harry Houdini, Diana Ross and Judy Garland. Neil Simon's "Sweet Charity" was the first Broadway musical that the theater hosted after it was $500,000 renovated by the Nederlander family.
As the theater prepares to welcome visitors again, it is seen as a sign of the rebound of Times Square and New York.
The president of the Times Square Alliance said that they were symbolic of the pause in the Pandemic.
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