Kingsbridge Armory, Visioning Study

The Bronx, NY, USA

Sitting dormant for over 25 years after two failed redevelopment efforts, the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx is one of the largest stranded assets in New York City and the largest of the landmarked historic armory buildings.

Directed by the Governor and Mayor with bringing a successful redevelopment to fruition, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) embarked on a visioning study called Together for Kingsbridge / Juntos para-Kingsbridge.

Geothermal and photovoltaic systems were considered in MEP designs, as well as all-electric heating and cooling systems

The Kingsbridge Armory is one the largest stranded assets in New York City

MEP designs were developed with a cost estimator for NYCEDC to assess the financial feasibility of proposed reuse scenarios

Challenge

This community-driven study aimed to develop a vision for the armory that would meet the future needs of the Bronx as well as ensure an economic and technically viable approach prior to soliciting request for proposals (RFPs) from prospective developers. This study would serve as a crucial piece in understanding the building’s current condition and the investments needed to bring it to life.

Solution

As part of a wider technical team led by WXY, Buro Happold provided structural, MEP, and facade engineering services to evaluate the armory. Our team visually assessed the existing building to determine essential investment repairs and upgrades required to make the building structurally safe and watertight, with replacements proposed for MEP systems that are no longer functional.

Buro Happold also performed technical due diligence to determine the feasibility of proposed adaptive reuse scenarios that were revealed through extensive community outreach. These scenarios include using the armory as a sound stage for film and television production, as an innovation hub for emerging technologies, and as a multipurpose events and recreation space. This work involved designing structural upgrades and MEP systems to support these proposed uses.

Sustainability was a strong focus of our proposed MEP designs; geothermal and photo voltaic systems were considered as well as all-electric heating and cooling. These designs were significantly developed to determine the quantities for use by the cost estimator and for the NYCEDC to assess the financial viability of each proposed scenario.

Value

The resulting visioning plan became a vital piece of an RFP process for the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, providing interested developers with a clear understanding of what the community envisions for the future of the building and what is both technically and economically feasible.