At Sibley, Existing Conditions’ work was particularly crucial in documenting the intricate details associated with very specific and ornate areas that had been originally utilized for the historic department store’s corporate offices, abandoned dining hub and expansive lobbies.
Sibley had very unusual plan geometry, to say the least. Access in some spaces was challenging, and many safety precautions needed to be taken. Multiple renovations over the course of decades had generated unknown conditions. The building also had a great deal of important but unusual architectural features, so the resulting existing conditions survey was complex.
To lower risk and empower TAT to confidently finalize design drawings, the Existing Conditions team returned to the site dozens of times over the course of three to four years, scanning spaces before and after demolition to accurately document conditions and precisely locate previously hidden elements. The company’s high-resolution scans of the exposed floor slab and exterior masonry walls found serious deflection and uneven conditions, which enabled us to avoid design and construction surprises that would have resulted in costly change orders and delays. Our general contractor, DiMarco Constructors, had all the information it needed to do amazing work.
After two years of planning, systems renovation and intensive restorations of the art deco features in the main lobby, WinnDevelopment succeeded in listing the Sibley Building on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The company secured financing for its plans in 2016, kicking off a phased development that blended modern urban lifestyle offerings within a historic superstructure, including:
- A 68,000-square-foot research and development hub on the sixth floor of the mid-rise occupied by NextCorps, a high- tech incubator for start-ups supported by the University of Rochester, featuring co-working space, private offices and state- of-the-art labs, conference rooms and an auditorium.
- The Landmark at Sibley Square, affordable apartment housing for age 55-plus seniors located on floors seven and eight of the refurbished Sibley Tower.
- Spectra at Sibley Square, 104 market-rate apartments on floors nine through 12 of the tower.
- Liberty Lofts at Sibley Square, 104 workforce housing apartments on floors two through five of the original mid-rise segment.
- The Commissary, a 6,500-square-foot incubator for dozens of food business entrepreneurs sharing a commercial kitchen on the first floor.
- The Mercantile on Main, the first food hall in Rochester and one of the largest restaurant marketplaces in upstate New York. Occupying 10,000 square feet in the building’s first-floor atrium, the Mercantile on Main features five eateries, a coffee shop and Rufus Cocktail Bar—named after Sibley Building founder, Rufus Sibley.
- Commercial tenants include DGX Grocery; Bank of America; hummus manufacturer, Ithaca Cold Crafted; a technology learning center, Boundless Connections; Citizens Bank; a daycare, Rochester Child- first Network; dental services at Eastman Dental; the Rochester Institute of Technology City Art Space; a Rochester Police Department substation; a Lifespan senior health center; and furnished offices for entrepreneurs at @SibleyWorx.
Smart Work
Today, thanks to the smart work of TAT, Existing Conditions and DiMarco Constructors we were able to adapt and transform Sibley Square to host 350,000 square feet of residential uses, featuring apartments in every income category, expertly integrated with more than 400,000 square feet of Class A office space, 75,000 square feet of retail space and 68,000 square feet of high-tech educational space.
Measuring all this out with old-school design and surveying techniques would have taken nearly as long as the redevelopment itself. Being able to quickly drop the actual physical layout into an architectural model was the footing we needed for an efficient, on-budget and successful redevelopment. Without the foundational intelligence of accurate building documentation, we never would have accomplished all this in eight years.
It took 21st century design and scanning techniques to reinvigorate Sibley’s century-old legacy as the destination for all people to work, play and live in Rochester and, in the process, create a national model for high-impact, mixed-use downtown redevelopment.