Battery Maritime Building


Description

Originally the Whitehall Ferry Terminal, the Battery Maritime Building is the only historic ferry terminal on New York City's waterfront.  When it was built, it was the jewel of the city's water based transit system.  Times change.  The building spent decades as an unused relic.  With the help of Federal tax credits, a private development team was able to renovate it and repurpose it as an event and hospitality space.  

Constructed, 1909
Exterior Renovation, 2002

 After 9/11 there was a huge initiative to reimagine and redesign much of Lower Manhattan.  Parking lots were transformed into parks.  Many of the historic buildings which were in disrepair were repurposed and renovated.  A conservation study was done of the Battery Maritime building which led to the exterior renovation.  

Renovation, 2022

The 162,000-SF facility is fully re-activated. The ground floor serves public ferry operations alongside a porte-cochere driveway and two gracious new lobbies. The civic second floor has been re-imagined as an events venue centered about the restored Great Hall. The third and fourth floors have been reconstructed as a boutique hotel. Finally, a modern fifth-floor glass addition houses a membership club with sweeping views of the upper Hudson Bay. The redevelopment had three main goals. First, to activate the building with new uses ensuring its economic viability into the future. Second, to complete the historic preservation of the building interiors and exteriors. Finally, to sensitively enlarge the existing building and support modern program requirements and capitalize on the views. This project saved an important New York City landmark for the foreseeable future while contributing to a revitalized waterfront.


Podcasts

Awards
AIA NY Design Award in 2023