State taps Lendlease, Turner Construction for Javits expansion

The state entity that controls the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center selected Lendlease and Turner Construction to develop the exhibition hall’s 1.2 million-square-foot expansion.

The directors of the New York Convention Center Development Corporation Tuesday chose the partnership as the design-builder of the project, which is expected to cost $1.55 billion, the Commercial Observer reported.

Lendlease and Turner beat out a consortium of Skanska USA, HOK and STV in the final selection round for the job based on their ability to meet the project’s technical requirements such as scheduling and design, according to convention center committee president Sarah Saint-Amand.

They also came in with a bid $26 million lower than the one Skanska proposed.

According to a presentation made ahead of the vote Tuesday, the development group is eligible for a bonus of up to $12 million if the project is completed ahead of its 46-month schedule.

New York state, which owns the convention center, has already set side $1 billion pay for the majority of the  project. Bonds that the government issued in 2015 and 2016 will cover the remaining $550 million.

Following a $460 million renovation to the Javits Center between 2009 and 2014, state officials explored building a new, larger center in Queens. But in January 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he intended to expand the current facility.

“With a recent renovation and a rapidly changing West Side neighborhood, there has never been better time to visit the Javits Center, and this new project will showcase our spaces to new audiences for generations to come,” Alan Steel, CEO of the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation, wrote in a statement. [CO] – Rich Bockmann