Lenore Janis, president of Professional Women in Construction hailed the construction of 7 Bryant Park as game-changer on the New York City landscape.
“Clearly, 7 Bryant Park will enhance New York City’s landscape and economic vitality. We are glad to see so many key women playing major roles in its formation and are delighted to honor the women and the men heading the project,” said Janis as she opened the ceremony honoring the tower as PWC’s Project of the Year.
During a reception held at The Yale Club, Tommy Craig, senior managing director for the project’s developer, Hines, said, “We have a deep faith that in building projects you have to start with the right people. Our world is dominated by the concept of teamwork. The people working on the project are emblematic of the ideals we believe in.”
Craig praised the work of PWC honoree Sarah Hawkins, a Hines director and the project manager for 7 Bryant Park. He spoke of her efforts in helping to negotiate the building’s all-equity financing and execute a guaranteed maximum price contract with the general contractor and concluded that “my aspirations for Sarah are extremely high – I envision her as a leader for the next generation.”
Hawkins offered a brief slide show of the building, noting its prime location with “unencumbered park views” and the corner space that is maximized through “the genius of Pei Cobb Freed, the project’s architects.”
Highlighted features will be the curved glass overseeing the park, terraces on the 10th floor and penthouse, a stainless steel canopy, 10 foot high ceilings, a column-free interior, a penthouse terrace, ground floor programmed for a high-end restaurant and numerous LEED gold features making the building an emblem of sustainability.
Craig presented the next PWC award to Mary Ann Tighe, CEO for the Tri-State Region of CBRE, the exclusive leasing agent for the building. “No one else could represent the building and the team as well,” he said.
Accepting the award from Craig for Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, was Yvonne Szeto, FAIA, the first woman partner of the firm and the designer of 7 Bryant Park together with Henry N. Cobb. Said Craig, “To work with Pei Cobb Freed is to feel the strength of commitment and personal collaboration.”
In granting the PWC award to Andrea Pierce, an executive director of J.P. Morgan Asset Management and the head of its Eastern US office and industrial real estate asset management sector, Craig spoke of the extremely important relationship between Hines and JPMorgan and said that “Hines is extremely happy and fortunate to have a partnership with Andrea and JP Morgan.”
Craig also applauded PWC honoree Patrick Murray, project executive with Turner Construction Company. James Rizzo, Northeast regional manager, Tate Access Floors, was the event chair.
