Javits Center Completes $465 Million Make-Over, Boasts Largest Green Roof in the Northeast

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Javits Center

The expansion and revitalization process of the iconic Jacob K. Javits Convention Center has reached completion after a four-year-long process.

Considered the country’s largest and busiest venue for conventions, trade shows and large-scale events (in 2012 alone it hosted more than 140 events that generated nearly $1.5 billion for New York City and New York State), the Javits Center is located in the heart of the city, on Manhattan’s West Side. Designed as an innovative frame structure by a team of I. M. Pei architects lead by James Ingo Freed, the center was built between 1980 and 1986 as a replacement of the New York Coliseum.

As a direct response to the growing demand for convention and trade space, in 2009 the center embarked on a $465 million renovation project managed by the Empire State Development and The New York Convention Center Operating Corp. as the property owner, in collaboration with the Hotel Association of New York City, FXFOWLE, Epstein and Tishman Construction. Phase I of the project was completed within one year with the addition of an 110,000-square-foot hall known as Javits Center North.

Javits Center Green Roof

One of the project’s goals was for the center to achieve LEED Silver certification, so the development team created a 6.75-acre green roof—the second largest in the United States and the largest in the Northeast on a single, stand-alone building—to reduce water run-off and help conserving energy inside the building. The green roof is expected to achieve more than 25 percent in energy use reduction.

As part of the “green” improvements at the Javits Center, the existing curtain wall was replaced with 3,722 panels of energy-efficient glass and 2,400 skylight panels that allow the maximum usage of daylight.

Photos by David Sundberg/Esto