Bridge Street starts construction of new office building.

Bridge Street-Properties, an Irvington, NY commercial real estate developer and operator, announced that it has begun construction of a 25,000-SF office building on the Hudson River. The construction is the latest phase of a 10-year development and restoration project on the company's 9-acre site in Irvington, NY.

"The building setting will be unlike any other in Westchester County or even the New York Metropolitan area," said William Thompson; a partner in Bridge Street Properties, LLC. "We are building a state-of-the art, technologically advanced facility that will complement the existing campus and surroundings, and we expect to attract a single large tenant who will appreciate the benefits the site has to offer."

The three-story, loft-like building will feature DS3 fiber optics from Verizon, T-1 connectivity and on-site support from existing tenants, plus a host of amenities, such as onsite parking, outdoor riverfront patio areas, and maintenance.

It is designed to comply with New York's Green Building Initiative. Using the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEEDS) model, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the BSP office building will incorporate a wide range of features, including using building products made from recycled materials, optimizing interior space for work stations, maximizing use of daylight, installing energy efficient windows, lights, and appliances, and preserving natural resources by using salvaged and recycled materials such as lumber and hardware.

The new building will be constructed on the west side of the existing complex, facing the Hudson River, with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline, the New Jersey Palisades and the Tappan Zee Bridge. The property is surrounded by more than 16 acres of waterfront parkland on its north and south sides. It is easily accessible by public transportation, with the Metro North Irvington Station adjacent to the facility. The complex is located 16 miles north of New York City, and 2 miles from Interstates 87 and 287. Approximately 150 additional parking spaces will be added to the existing 310 spaces to accommodate new tenants.

The Bridge Street Properties (BSP) Development Project is the largest commercial real estate property in Irvington, with 52 businesses employing approximately 550 people. With the new building and planned additional renovation to the existing. space, the property will grow by about 75,000 SF by the end of the year. "Bridge Street Properties has over the years steadily improved what was a decaying portion of the Irvington waterfront. The new building is yet another significant step in the revitalization of this important part of Irvington," said Irvington Mayor Dennis Flood.

The complex was originally the home of Lord and Burnham Horticulture Manufacturing Co., the preeminent designer and builder of the most renowned and historically significant greenhouses and conservatories at the turn of the 20th century, including the National Conservatory in Washington, DC, the New York Botanical Gardens, the San Francisco Conservatory and the landmark Lyndhurst Conservatory in Irvington, NY.

Bridge Street Properties began the conversion and refurbishment of the complex from industrial and. warehouse facilities to high-end, adaptive re-use Class A office space in 1992. Adaptive re-use has created a technologically advanced, modem office environment without compromising the integrity of the original buildings architecture. The red brick factory buildings, which now house the existing offices, feature original maple flooring, cypress timber beams and support columns, planked cypress ceilings, and high peaked skylights. The new structure is designed to complement the existing buildings and enhance the overall complex.

The 130,000 SF of occupied space is currently home to a variety of creative and professional service. businesses, the majority of which have been tenants for over ten years. As warehouse space has been converted to office space during the 10-year history of the BSP Development Project, Bridge Street Properties has maintained a consistent 100% occupancy rate for usable office space while exhibiting average annual growth in new office square footage of nearly 10%. Much of the tenant growth has come from within, illustrating tenant satisfaction.