NEW YORK | (Staten Island) New York Wheel | 625 FT

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

It takes years to build a Ferris Wheel?

It's not just a ferris wheel. It sits on a giant platform/garage/park space. The ferris wheel is the simplest part.

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/ny...hore.html?_r=0

Rolling Out a Huge Wheel on the Staten Island Shore





By HELENE STAPINSKI
SEPT. 30, 2016

When Rich Marin’s brand-new 300-foot-long legs arrive from Italy this weekend, he is hoping his friends will stop teasing him.

Mr. Marin is a giant of a man — 6-foot-5, 350 pounds — dwarfing everyone around him. But those legs don’t exactly belong to him; they belong to his latest project, a 630-foot Ferris wheel that is slowly coming together on the Staten Island shore.

“People say to me every day, ‘When are you going to start building?’” said Mr. Marin, the chief executive of the New York Wheel, which will become the biggest observation wheel in the world when it is finished in about a year and a half. “When the legs arrive, that’s the day people stop asking me.”

On a recent tour of the bustling work site, Mr. Marin tried to show how high the 60-story wheel would reach. But there were no reference points. “It’ll be right about where the sun is,” he said, squinting and pointing to the midmorning sky.

Construction has been going on for 16 months — and is about halfway done — but most of it has been below surface, laying the groundwork for the 20-million-pound wheel. The foundation is made of 8,000 cubic yards of poured concrete in 24 layers, with an inch and a half of rebar in each, Mr. Marin said. Reaching 100 feet into the bedrock are 96 caissons, which are now awaiting the leg pedestals.

The pedestals, weighing 110 tons, are being built in Montreal and will be arriving within the next two weeks. They will be delivered to the temporary dock at the waterfront site, and will connect to the four legs, which were made in Pescara, Italy, and were being shipped in eight pieces to the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. In a month, they will be delivered by barge to the Staten Island dock.

When installed this winter, the legs will reach as high as the nearby 19-story Castleton Park apartment houses behind the site of the New York Wheel.

Once the 1,300-ton spindle is put in place in March, the wheel will be built like a circular bridge, its rim growing section by section, with temporary spokes, explained Chris DeLuca, the project’s lead structural engineer. He said that once the permanent spokes were in place — 144 radial steel cables — capsules would be added. The 36 egg-shape glass pods will hold up to 40 people each for a 38-minute ride when the New York Wheel opens in April 2018. There will be pods with bars and luxury dining, and all New York City schoolchildren will ride free the first year.

Mr. DeLuca, whose projects include the new World Trade Center Tower 3, said the wheel was the most challenging project he had ever worked on. “Just the sheer size of the thing,” he said, “and then all the separate elements and so many people involved.”

Mr. Marin expects 3.5 million riders a year, most arriving on the Staten Island Ferry. Two and a half million tourists take the free ferry each year already, “but they just get right back on and head back to Manhattan,” he said. The wheel will give them incentive to stay.

The New York Wheel, Mr. Marin said, will look more delicate than its cousins in Singapore, London, Orlando and Las Vegas, which is now the biggest observation wheel, at 550 feet. Unlike Orlando, where the legs are splayed far out, the legs on the New York Wheel will be closer together because of the constraints of the building site. “This is going to be built like it’s on stiletto heels,” he said.

Mr. Marin moved to Staten Island from downtown Manhattan to be closer to the project and will very likely live there when it is done. He worked for 37 years as a Wall Street banker, and put his skills to work in securing funding for the project.

His job is not only to put the wheel up, but also to make sure it stays standing — through storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and whatever else comes its way.

“You know what this is?” he asked, holding a green cable. “Grounding for lightning strikes.” The wheel should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane, with winds up to 129 miles per hour. After ice storms, it will have to be de-iced like an airplane. Terrorism is also being taken into account.

“We want to make it impervious to collapse,” Mr. Marin said. “We’re doing blast analysis, what would happen if there was a pressure cooker or vehicular bombs.” The only thing he can’t guard against is an airborne attack, he said, glancing up at the clear blue sky. “We have to hope the U.S. military has that under control.”

[NYguy]

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf...el_legs_a.html

First step for NY Wheel: Legs arrive this weekend





By Tracey Porpora
September 30, 2016

The very first pieces of the New York Wheel -- its four legs -- have departed Italy, where they were made, and are scheduled to arrive via barge at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal on Saturday.

"The legs are on a ship right now heading toward the harbor and they are scheduled to arrive on Saturday, but won't get unloaded until Monday," said New York Wheel founder and CEO Rich Marin.

The cost for the legs and installation is roughly $15 million of the $580 million project to construct a 630-foot observation wheel on the St. George waterfront, which is scheduled to open in April 2018

THE LEGS

The legs were crafted on the Adriatic Coast of Italy by Walter Tosto.

"There are eight pieces, two pieces per leg -- each about 150 feet long and those eight pieces are painted the color of the Wheel, nautical or marine white," said Marin.

He said the legs will be stored at Brooklyn Marine Terminal until they are brought to the Wheel site by barge.

"We will have our lay down (storage) area there. They will stay there until they are ready to be barged over to our (Wheel) site," said Marin.

"This lay down area is where our Wheel construction people will do the prepping of all of the components. Everything they use will come in through that terminal. There is a regular dock there. We don't have a regular dock at the Wheel site; we have a jetty," said Marin.

He noted the legs will be put on barges "one or two pieces at a time." And they won't be moved to the site and erected "immediately."

"They were available to be shipped so we shipped them now. We have the lay down space specifically to store the legs until we're ready to use them," said Marin.

THE PEDESTALS

Occurring over the next month is the delivery of the four pedestals on which the Wheel legs will sit. Constructed by a company called ADF in Montreal, the pedestals are expected to be delivered at separate times over the next month, said Marin.

"It's been very challenging. They (the pedestals) are 110 tons of very complicated, welded steel that are getting fabricated at one of the best steel fabricators in the world," said Marin.

"It will take a couple of days for them (pedestals) to get here by truck to New Jersey and then they get put on a barge, and sent across to our jetty at the site. Then they get rolled onto the site and put in place on the embeds," he added.

The pedestals will be cemented onto the site and will hold the legs of the Wheel.

"The pedestals get lowered down onto a flange to screws (already in the ground). With great precision, they are then screwed down," said Marin.

"We pour concrete with some rebar in it in the form around the base of the pedestal to solidify it's positioning there to receive the legs," he added.

Other work, happening simultaneously, includes the second phase of construction for the garage. This will upgrade the current facility from 820 to 950 parking spots. Marin said the garage is expected to be complete by Dec. 1.

In addition, the main terminal -- that will be the hub of wheel operations -- will be built between now and November, said Marin.

[gramsjdg]

This project is awesome. Fantastic idea for the location!

Interestingly enough, its the same height as the St Louis Gateway arch.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by gramsjdg

This project is awesome. Fantastic idea for the location!

Interestingly enough, its the same height as the St Louis Gateway arch.

Almost the same. The Gateway Arch is 630 feet.

[chris08876]

• Video Link

[gramsjdg]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

Almost the same. The Gateway Arch is 630 feet.

Looks like it got a height bump to 630 based on the project website...

http://newyorkwheel.com/about.html

[scalziand]

Originally Posted by chris08876

• Video Link

Hope it ends up on an episode of Megashippers.

[NYguy]

Yuge...


http://ny.curbed.com/2016/10/4/13163...-staten-island

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by scalziand

Hope it ends up on an episode of Megashippers.

This will definitely be on some Discovery or History Channel special. Modern Marvels or something like that.

[chris08876]

Credit: nyc1

[NYguy]

http://ny.curbed.com/2016/11/14/1362...l-construction

The New York Wheel’s 100-ton pedestals arrive on Staten Island
The pedestals mark the first full structure to hit the construction site





BY RACHEL SUGAR
NOV 14, 2016

The New York Wheel, which will soon lure hoards of tourists to Staten Island (maybe?), crossed yet another milestone last week, with two of its four pedestals arriving at the riverside construction site.

Once the other two pedestals land later this week, the wheel will officially have its “first full structure” at the site of what’s to become the world’s tallest observation wheel. The pedestals are arriving by barge, having traveled down the Hudson from Montreal to the $3 million temporary construction dock in Staten Island, built specifically to greet them. The wheel’s 500-ton legs are still being processed at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

The New York Wheel is one of the linchpins of a $1.2 billion project to revamp Staten Island’s North Shore, and is expected to cost around $590 million. Its developers are optimistic about the wheel’s appeal: once it finally opens in the spring of 2018, the wheel is expected to get more than three million visitors a year, and its backers think it could bring in more revenue than the Empire State Building’s observation deck. In the spirit of observation, we’ll see.

[NYguy]

• Video Link

[NYguy]

http://therealdeal.com/2016/12/13/ny...equity-stakes/

NY Wheel investors settle messy legal battle over equity stakes
Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed

December 13, 2016
By Katherine Clarke

The warring investors in Staten Island’s controversial New York Wheel project have laid down their arms.

A group of the project’s major investors, including the Feil Organization, BLDG Management’s Lloyd Goldman and jeans mogul Joseph Nakash, settled a lawsuit against two minority shareholders, Eric Kaufman and project founder Meir Laufer.

“All investor suits have been settled amicably,” Wheel CEO Rich Marin said in a statement.

[chris08876]

I happened to see that barge in post #373 in Port Elizabeth yesterday. It was empty though. Presumable the materials get loaded on the dock, and it goes back and forth with materials from the Elizabeth area.

[mrnyc]

^ i'll be over to staten island again on wednesday, so i will take a look around the site and take a few pics.

[NYguy]

http://ny.curbed.com/2016/12/19/1400...tion-pedestals

Touring the Staten Island site where NYC's new observation wheel will rise
The first pieces of the 630-feet wheel are now nearing completion





BY TANAY WARERKAR
DEC 19, 2016

In just two years from now, Staten Island’s north shore will be home to a 630-foot observation wheel, one of the tallest in the world, and this past week marked a significant milestone in the construction process of this $590 million behemoth.

On Tuesday last week, the developers celebrated the progress on four, 100-ton pedestals that will hold the massive legs of the New York Wheel. While Curbed visited the site, all four pedestals were in different stages of construction. Built in Montreal, the pedestals made their way through the Erie Canal and onwards on the Hudson River along a 315-mile route to their destination on Staten Island.

“The arrival of the Wheel’s pedestals is important for several reasons,” New York Wheel CEO Rich Marin said in a statement. “These are the first major parts of the Wheel to arrive at our site and soon, we will begin to see the rise of the Wheel along New York Harbor.”

The Wheel’s 275-foot legs will start making their way to the site next month once the construction work on the pedestal wraps up. In terms of the overall development, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag for the developers. Last week, the development team settled a lawsuit with a couple of minority shareholders on the project, who had been warring with the development team about the vision of the project and the ballooning costs.

And those costs sure have gone up. The New York Post reports that its almost $600 million price tag is now $300 million over its original budget. The developers don’t seem to be complaining however as they stressed the fact last Tuesday that the project had already generated $26 million for Staten Island’s economy.

Set to open in 2018, the Wheel will feature 36 capsules, and each ride will take approximately 38 minutes. The Wheel will be able to accommodate 1,440 people at a time. In addition, the overall Wheel complex will also come with a 10,000-square-foot playground and outdoor beer garden. There will also be a five-acre green roof that will host concerts and events when the space opens.

“The delivery of the New York Wheel’s pedestals to St. George marks a major milestone in this transformative project, which is bringing millions in private investment to our shores,” the local City Council member, said in a statement. “After months of foundation work, the New York Wheel will finally begin to take shape, signaling not only economic development but new opportunities to access our scenic waterfront.”

[NYguy]

http://untappedcities.com/2016/12/14...island-photos/

First Pieces of New York Wheel Are Installed on Staten Island





michelle young
12/14/2016

Yesterday, we witnessed the installation of the first pieces of the New York Wheel, to be the world’s largest ferris wheel when opened to the public in Spring 2018 on the north shore of Staten Island.

The 100 ton pedestals arrived a month ago by barge from Quebec, crossing the locks of the Erie Canal and down the Hudson River over the course of 315 miles. Although the pedestals were within the weight limits for New York State, they were too heavy for the roads and bridge of Quebec – hence its fitting, watery passage here to New York City.

[TechTalkGuy]

Looks good so far.
My expectations are going to be pretty high for this one.
I typically don't visit Staten Island, so this is their opportunity to impress.
Gift shops, dining with lots of food and (hopefully) other amusement rides will help anchor Staten Island for the city.

[mrnyc]

^ per the post, here are some of the shops:


New York Wheel bringing new retailers to Staten Island’s north shore

By Steve Cuozzo December 20, 2016 | 1:39am


These are busy days around the Staten Island Ferry terminal in St. George. Pedestals have begun to arrive for the near-$600 million, 630-foot-tall New York Wheel, behind its original schedule but now on track to open in 2018. And almost at its foot, the leasing machine of BFC Partners’ Empire Outlets keeps on turning.

In the latest deal, Toys ‘R’ Us has signed for a 3,300- square-foot store for the complex that aims for a grand opening in November 2017. The first Toys outlet on Staten Island’s north shore joins other signed retailers including H&M, Nordstrom Rack and Banana Republic.

BFC principal Joseph Ferrara said the Empire complex — including 340,000 square feet of stores and a 40,000-square-foot food-and-beverage deck — is already 68.5 percent leased, including several new tenants he can’t yet name.

He also shared that Empire Outlets tenants are paying $80 to $125 a square foot for triple net leases (which include maintenance, real estate taxes and utilities), plus an unstated percentage of revenue. “We’ll try to make them all as successful as possible,” Ferrara said.