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2025 Nominees

Project Name

TSX Broadway and Palace Theater Redevelopment

Description

The TSX Broadway and Palace Theater Redevelopment project in Times Square used cementitious products from Heidelberg Materials who is pleased to make this submission as the supplier of Portland Cement and Slag Cement; key components for the innovative mixes prepared for this high-profile project.

TSX Broadway is a 48-story, 660,000 sq. ft building, reaching 581 ft in height integrating a hotel tower, state of the art LED screened façade, entertainment venue, and retail spaces. The project raised the landmark Palace Theater 30-feet above the space it had occupied since 1913, securing it in its new elevated position. This award-winning project has been described as an engineering marvel and exemplifies the benefits and high-performance advantages of ready mixed concrete construction.

Low-carbon concrete mixes were produced with slag cement supplied by NRMCA member, Heidelberg Materials, which reduced the project's embodied carbon by over 3,400 tons, a significant environmental benefit. Slag was used in 29,370+ of the project’s 30,450 cubic yards of ready mixed concrete. All the mixes with design strengths of 4,000 psi and greater contained slag so it accounted for 40% of the overall cementitious materials used on the job. All the foundation mixes with 8 ksi, 10 ksi, and 14 ksi design strengths, utilized 50% slag replacement of the mixes’ portland cement.

Structural Engineer Severud Associates made extensive use of high-performance ready mixed concrete. Eighty-four percent of the project’s concrete had a design strength of 8,000 psi to 14,000 psi, with more than 50% being 10,000 psi or greater. Structural work began with excavating under the existing historic Palace Theater to complete an extensive foundation overhaul and restoration to support the ambitious structural achievement to follow. Ready mixed concrete was ideally suited for this work, which was done at one of the busiest addresses in the nation.

Super-columns were cast at the theater’s corners and a post-tensioned girder system was created to de-load the existing truss and facilitate lifting the 7,000 ton theater and support the tower structure above. Three cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete girders, each 41 feet deep, 4.5 feet wide and 140 feet long, were constructed in 10-foot-deep increments. These girders are braced by thick cast-in-place concrete slabs at the 12th, 14th, and 16th floors. It is the longest post-tensioned concrete transfer truss for a vertical building in the world.

Evidence

TSX Broadway is an award-winning redevelopment project in the heart of NYC. As explained in the Nomination Description, ready mixed concrete was an essential part of this ambitious project, requiring highly innovative structural engineering solutions to complete what has been called the most complex construction project in New York. As substantiated in several publications and awards, member company Heidelberg Materials supplied cementitious materials to the project.

This inspiring project involved demolishing 75% of the existing structure while retaining 25% of the project. It is the subject of YouTube videos which highlight the innovative use of post tensioned and structural concrete. They detail the engineering and construction process enhancing the public’s perception of concrete as a critical structural building material for high rise construction. Please search for these titles for a sampling of these reports:

 Inside the $2.5 Billion Times Square Transformation: TSX Broadway
 TSX Broadway: Historic Palace Theatre raised 30-feet above Times Square
 Watch a 14-MILLION Pound Theatre Get Lifted 30 Feet Above Times Square
 TSX Broadway Straight Engineering Construction Industry Insights Video

The project’s engineering and construction have won a series of awards including:

• 2022/2023 Grand Award winner in the Concrete Industry Board (CIB) of New York’s 62nd annual Roger H. Corbetta Awards for Quality Concrete
• 2023 NCSEA Structural Engineering Excellence (SEE) Awards, Outstanding Structure winner, in the category of Forensic/Renovation/Retrofit/Rehabilitation
• 2023 SEAoNY Structural Engineering Excellence (SEE) Awards, in the category of Forensic Analysis/ Renovation/ Retrofit & Rehabilitation of Structures
• American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York) 2024 Engineering Excellence Award, Diamond level, Structural Systems category
• American Council of Engineering Companies 2024 Engineering Excellence Award, Grand Award, Structural Systems category
• 2024 ACI Overall “Excellence” Award Winner and 1st Place in Repair and Restoration category
• 2024 Slag Cement in Sustainable Concrete Awards Program in the High Performance category to be announced April, 2025
This project is a hallmark example of innovative structural design, materials excellence in performance-critical applications, strength, durability, resilience, and sustainability, making it a deserving candidate for a Concrete Innovations Award.

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