As one of Verizon's largest office buildings in the United States, and its largest switching center in NYC, the 1 million-sq-ft, 32-story structure is a critical telecommunications facility, serving some 300,000 voice lines and 3.5 million data circuits, as well as circuits connected to other telecommunications companies. Within a month, Verizon launched a reconstruction program to both repair the historic structure and improve its systems to better meet present and future needs. Consulting engineers Syska Hennessy Group joined the effort, initially to evaluate the condition of the building, and then to assess the space and develop several options to rehabilitate and/or replace the systems.
The team's objective was to create a state-of-the-art telecommunications center in a landmark building, with a complete infrastructure upgrade that would suit both the telecommunication functions on the lower floors and the administrative functions on the upper ones. Syska Hennessy Group was responsible for the design of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, life safety, and central utilities systems.