BY NANCY A. RULING
RENDERING SUPPLIED BY BEYER BLINDER BELLE ARCHITECTS & PLANNERS LLP
Exactly a century ago, the American Bank Note Company did something astounding. It pulled up stakes in Lower Manhattan and moved its factory of printing presses way up to Hunts Point in the South Bronx.
There, high on a hill overlooking the Manhattan skyline in what was then a vacation retreat for the city’s moneyed class, America’s first security printing firm built a 405 million-foot, fortress-like edifice that was ringed by an imposing six-foot-high red-brick wall.
With its massive banks of arched windows and acres of saw-tooth skylights that flooded it with natural light and air, the Penny Factory, as the locals soon started calling it, was a mint example of a green building long before the concept of sustainability was coined.
Its patinated-green bones and its prime location by the Bruckner Expressway are what prompted co-developers Taconic Investment Partners and Denham Wolf Real Estate Services to buy it and get it designated a New York City landmark, all with the goal of transforming it into a center for schools and the arts and a home for nonprofit organizations, design firms, traditional office tenants, and retail shops.
The renaissance of the complex is a key to the rebirth of the neighborhood, says Sarah Eisinger, leasing agent for Manhattan-based Denham Wolf Real Estate Services, because the iconic structure is “the gateway to Hunts Point Peninsula. Just a mile away is the largest food distribution center in the world (all of New York City’s food comes through Hunts Point), and the New Fulton Fish Market and the vegetable and meat markets are here.”
The developers’ plans segued with those of the complex’s few remaining tenants—two schools; the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre; BAAD! (the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance); the Lightbox-NY photography/video studio; the Wine Cellarage, a wine-storage company; several artists; and Sustainable South Bronx, the environmental/economic justice group founded by Macarthur genius award winner Majora Carter.
“We felt there was a lot of opportunity in the Bronx,” says Eisinger. “We have been serving the nonprofit sector for more than 10 years. We help our clients plan, acquire, and build real estate, and at the time, the end of 2007, our client base was having a hard time staying in Manhattan because of the high rents. We knew we wanted to do an adaptive reuse project, and with this building, in some ways we felt like we were halfway there.”
The vast complex, which has been renamed the BankNote, was about half empty when Denham Wolf and Taconic bought it for $32 million at the end of 2007. It has three spacious, interconnected sections or wings in addition to an adjacent stand-alone building. In a nod to the past and the present, new green features have been added, including energy-efficient windows and mechanical systems, a green roof pilot project tended by Sustainable South Bronx, and dual-flush toilets and automatic faucets in the renovated bathrooms.
“The greenest thing we did was repurpose the building,” Eisinger says, adding that applying for LEED certification is under consideration.
Rents are about $22 to $25 per square foot, and tenants are eligible for a number of tax credits, including those from the Empire State Development Corporation Empire Zone.
“The BankNote is unique,” says Doug Winshall, executive vice president of Manhattan-based Taconic. “The stock of inventory of Class A office space is small in the Bronx, and there are very few multi-tenant office buildings like this one. Although the gap between the Bronx and Manhattan is narrower now than when we bought it, we’re still cheaper than Manhattan because of the financial incentives.”
The complex, bounded by Garrison and Lafayette avenues and Tiffany and Barretto streets, is on the No. 6 subway line and within walking distance of the No. 2 and No. 5 lines. It is undergoing a $25-million renovation designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, which restored Grand Central Terminal, the Apollo Theater and the Ellis Island museum. “It was one of the first industrial buildings to be designed around what the company did, not the other way around,” says architect Neil P. Kittredge, partner in charge of the project. “It’s one of the most exciting and impressive industrial buildings in the city.”
Although it was built for only one user, it has interconnected levels so “it can serve numerous tenants, everything from schools to light manufacturing, as a city within a city,” Kittredge says. “Different tenants can have different entrances on different levels, and there’s a lot of ground-level entry space so each has good visibility and a separate identity.”
In Beyer Blinder Belle’s minimalist plan, interior and exterior spaces will become more pedestrian-friendly. “Indoor streets” will follow the skylights, the parking lot entrance will be turned into a landscaped plaza with Internet service, a grand front entrance will be created, and the common areas, including the lobby and elevators, will be upgraded.
Proposed amenities include a café and restaurant, newsstand and sundry shops, an attended lobby with 24/7 security, and a bank branch. “We envision the BankNote’s being alive with people working and playing and eating and enjoying the space,” says Eisinger, adding that the complex is conveniently adjacent to the South Bronx Greenway project and next to a New York City recreation center and ballparks. “Bringing thousands of people here to work would be a major accomplishment, particularly in this economic climate.”
The renovation, which will be complete by the end of 2009, has attracted the interest of a number of prospective tenants, including schools, architectural firms, and restaurants. “The space also is perfect for museums,” Eisinger says. “It’s reminiscent of the Dia:Beacon. And we’re excited about the prospect of more schools because the Bronx is underserved, and folks here have been telling us that there’s no space for more, so if we could provide first-rate educational opportunities for children, that’s a tremendous outcome for us.”
Winshall, too, sees the BankNote as a leader in the revitalization of Hunts Point. “It’s big enough and prominent enough to make a difference,” he says.
