Solving problems with planning.

It could be anything from the conversion of a large commercial building into luxury apartments, to the renovation of a historic church or the interior construction of corporate offices. The common element in such projects is complexity and the need for prompt and informed decision-making.

Them is always a potential for controversy in design and construction; however, advance planning can alleviate most conflicts and create a method to resolve any unanticipated challenges.

One good way for a property owner or tenant, undertaking a capital project, to relieve this inevitable burden is to delegate project management responsibility to an experienced project administrator. That is what a real estate project manager or owner's representative is for.

Levien & Co., founded by Kenneth Levien, AIA in 1992, is a project management and owner/tenant representative firm. The firm has experience with a wide range of design and construction problems, and has developed methods to overcome many of the obstacles that can (and do) arise between the decision to proceed with a project and the day the work is finally done.

"We do everything from assisting with site selection and directing pre-construction programming, to coordinating the activities of architects, engineers, interior designers, specialty consultants and general contractors or construction managers," explains Levien.

The firm's experience is broad. A good example is the creation of The Greenwich, an apartment building carved out of the old Siegel's Department Store at 65 West 13th St in Manhattan. In this case, Levien & Co. helped arrange joint venture development of the project, advised on the hiring of architects, engineers and contractors, and oversaw the complex transformation of 250,000 SF of offices and warehouse space into apartments and retail.

The project involved radical demolition and subsequent reconstruction, descending nine stories through the center of the early 20th century structure to create an atrium and raising steel two stories above the existing building--on a heavily trafficked street--to create penthouse apartments.

"Using torches and concrete saws--the city prohibited hard demolition--we cut through the center of the building to build a courtyard and rear terraces," Alexandra Notaras, a Levien & Co. project executive adds.

The firm has also undertaken challenging assignments for some of the city's leading religious institutions. For example, Levien & Co. was in charge of bringing back to life the historic Central Synagogue at Lexington Avenue and 55th Street after a fire in 1998 devastated the fabled interior. Here the task was to create a new building ready for the 21st century within the striking Moorish-style exterior. Today this beautiful building is vibrantly renewed while retaining its age-old dignity.

A different set of tasks awaited the firm when it was chosen to supervise the rehabilitation of St. James' Church, the distinguished Episcopal institution at Madison Avenue and 71st Street. While a massive renovation of the sanctuary, installation of air conditioning, and addition of new space for religious, classroom and community use were under way, the daffy life of the church went on. The project management team ensured that the schedule and budget were followed, and the result is an 1884 church equipped for the needs of parishioners and community members in 2003.

Educational institutions have also turned to Levien & Co. for assistance. The firm took charge of an $80 million project to build a new 12-story faculty homing and a kindergarten through-eighth-grade school for Columbia University at 110th Street and Broadway. The firm was also entrusted with the task of building a new middle school for Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn within the nave of a 133-year-old Victorian gothic building formerly known as St. Ann's Episcopal Church.

"One of the client's primary concerns was bringing natural light into the classroom areas," says project executive Sandy Polsak of Levien. "The architect's solution involved removing the church's balconies, thereby opening up the interior to light from the side windows. After consulting with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, we were able to replace the stained glass windows in the church's side aisles with clear glass to let in more light, while retaining the stained glass on the primary facades."

Levien is also responsible for overseeing construction of a new long-term-care facility at the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, a six-story building called the Jacob Reingold Pavilion. "In this assignment," says Levien's Pamela Holzapfel, "we are faced with the challenge of integrating a new facility with existing campus buildings, while still ensuring that residents and employees of the Hebrew Home are minimally disrupted."

The project management firm reaches beyond the New York metropolitan area, too. It was hired to provide oversight for the restoration and renovation of the Eden Roe Resort & Spa, the legendary Art Deco hotel in Miami Beach, and to renovate a 290,000-SF building in Charlotte, N.C.