Battery Maritime Building – Casa Cipriani | New York, New York | 2021


Architects: Marvel
Lead Architect: Jonathan J. Marvel
Interior Architects: The Office of Thierry W. Despont
Original Architects: Walker & Morris (1909)

General Contractor: MJM Associates Construction
Client: Midtown Equities LLC.
Photographers: David Sundberg/ESTO

The Battery Maritime Building (“BMB”) redevelopment saved a unique architectural landmark through creative adaptive reuse and a collaborative public-private partnership.

The BMB is the last remaining historic working Ferry terminal in New York City, located at Manhattan’s most prominent site, the foot of Broadway. By the late 1990s, the building was literally falling into the water and forgotten by most New Yorkers.

The design team worked closely with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, owner/developer Midtown Equities, and owner/operator Cipriani to breathe new life into this historic structure, orchestrating all efforts to preserve the legacy of the BMB while satisfying modern safety and infrastructure requirements.

The redevelopment of the BMB tells the story of the New York City waterfront, and its long transition from a working waterway, to neglect, to recreation.

Through creative adaptive reuse, they have introduced a multi-use hospitality venue including an events facility with the dramatic Great Hall at its heart, a Boutique Hotel, Spa, Gym, and Club/Restaurant. This diversified program activates the building with a strong economic engine and brings a renewed interest to this critical hinge point on Manhattan’s waterfront.

The redevelopment of the BMB is a cornerstone to the city’s broad-based goals of transforming Lower Manhattan into a vibrant mixed-use community and revitalizing the waterfront for the 21st century.