Dive Brief:
- Construction on a $1.7 billion resiliency megaproject in New York City will advance following a project labor agreement with the Building and Construction Trades Council.
- Delivered through a joint venture of New York City-based Turner Construction and SPC Construction, a subsidiary of Broomfield, Colorado-based FlatironDragados, the project will use a progressive design-build model, a first for a New York City project, according to a Battery Park City Authority news release. Work has begun, said Turner spokesperson Chris McFadden.
- The agreement sets wage and safety standards for the Battery Park City resiliency project, and expands access for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises.
Dive Insight:
The move underscores how New York City is increasingly tying major construction projects to PLAs.
More than $7 billion in upcoming construction in New York City will fall under new PLAs, according to a Nov. 24 news release from the office of Mayor Eric Adams, including the Battery Park City project. The endeavor is the third large-scale resiliency infrastructure project undertaken by BPCA since Superstorm Sandy, according to a Turner news release.
“More than $7 billion in Project Labor Agreements is the kind of big, bold commitment New York needs right now,” said Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the New York Building Congress, in the release. “This deal means faster projects, safer jobs and fairer wages for the union trades who build our city every day.”
The PLA is structured to support thousands of union jobs and promotes initiatives such as Helmets to Hardhats and Construction Skills, according to the release.
“This is why PLAs, like the one signed today, are crucial,” said Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, in the release. “They guarantee fair and livable wages, safe work environments and more accessible pathways to the middle class for tradesmen and tradeswomen.”
Turner and SPC, along with Amsterdam-based engineering firm Arcadis, Copenhagen-based design firm Bjarke Ingels Group and New York’s Scape Landscape Architecture have been planning the project for four years.
The coastal protection system includes integrated flood risk management features, reconstructed bulkheads, improved stormwater management and upgraded public spaces along the Battery Park city waterfront, according to the Turner release. New infrastructure will protect the area from 2.5 feet of projected sea level rise, help cool during heat events and prevent ponding more than 1-foot deep during heavy rains.
Once complete, officials say the project will ultimately remove Battery Park City from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood zone, which means homeowners will no longer be required to purchase flood insurance in the area.
“The Battery Park City Project is a massive undertaking, and this agreement, coupled with our progressive-design build model, codifies that the work will be completed efficiently and to the highest standards,” said Raju Mann, president and CEO of the Battery Park City Authority, in the release.
