Final beam signed by Skanska construction crew being hoisted to the top of Brooklyn Health Center.
Set to open in 2017, 12-story, multi-use building will be a major commercial destination in Brooklyn’s Cultural District
New York, NY – The Brooklyn Health Center celebrated a milestone today: the placement of its final steel beam, marking the completion of vertical construction. The occasion was marked with a topping out ceremony attended by the project’s leaders and construction tradespeople. Located at 620 Fulton Street, the Brooklyn Health Center is a 12-story multi-use facility that will be anchored by a state-of-the-art medical center serving the city’s hotel workers union. Opening next spring, it will also include office space and ground-level retail and dining.
Architecture firm Francis Cauffman designed the building. Skanska USA is the construction manager.
“We are delighted to mark this milestone in the construction of this building,” said Dr. Robert Greenspan, CEO of the New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of NYC, Inc. Employee Benefit Funds. “The Brooklyn Health Center has a bright future as a neighbor to vibrant downtown Brooklyn. We want the Health Center to be a place that our members will come to as a part of their everyday life, not just when something bad has happened to them.”
“This project brings to Fort Greene a state-of-the-art healthcare facility as well as a new destination for work, shopping, and dining. This facility will greatly improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the area,” said Tom Webb, executive vice president and general manager of Skanska USA Building’s Metro New York Office. “We are honored to be a part of building a sustainable future for this neighborhood and we thank all of the workers that made this milestone possible.”
James Crispino, AIA, NCARB, president and principal designer at Francis Cauffman, emphasized the high level of healthcare service that will be the hallmark of the Brooklyn Health Center. “Our design prioritizes quality healthcare without the wait. There will be no waiting rooms. Medical teams will share a central workspace, and patients will see all doctors, nurses, and staff needed for their care in the same examination room. Our goal is for 85 percent of patients to be through with their appointments and have prescriptions in hand in one hour or less,” he said.
The Brooklyn Health Center building has been under construction since its groundbreaking on March 19, 2015. The structure includes 180,000 square feet of healthcare, office, and retail space, with an outdoor plaza connecting to other public spaces in the neighborhood. It replaces a surface parking lot. The healthcare provider serving the Hotel Trades Council union will be the primary occupant, using five floors to house its Brooklyn Health Center.
Names of a major corporate tenant, retail tenants and the restaurant have yet to be announced.
About Employee Benefit Funds
The Employee Benefit Funds provides health, pension and other benefits to over 75,000 union members, dependents and retirees of the New York City hotel industry. These benefits are funded almost entirely by industry employers and are offered nearly free of cost to members. The Funds owns and operates Health and Dental Centers in Harlem, Midtown, Queens and Brooklyn. Nearly 1,000 doctors, nurses, counselors, clerks and administrative staff are employed or contracted with in-house to provide services. Members’ benefits were established in a collective bargaining contract between the New York Hotel Trades Council and the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. www.hotelfunds.org
About Francis Cauffman
Francis Cauffman, an award-winning architecture firm with offices in Philadelphia and New York, has supported its clients since 1954 with innovative architecture, planning, and interior design. The practice is recognized for being on the leading edge of emerging programmatic hybrid buildings and workplace strategies for corporate, advanced technology, healthcare, and academic settings. Francis Cauffman has a staff of 130 architects, planners, and interior designers and is active in 20 states and three countries. The firm’s clients include the Mount Sinai Health System, North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Geisinger Health System, MD Anderson at Cooper, and the John Hopkins Hospital. www.franciscauffman.com
About Skanska USA
Skanska USA is one of the largest, most financially sound construction and development companies in the U.S., serving a broad range of clients including those in transportation, power, industrial, water/wastewater, healthcare, education, sports, data centers, government, aviation and commercial. Headquartered in New York with offices in 33 metro areas, we have more than 10,000 employees committed to being leaders in safety, project execution, sustainability, ethics and people development. In 2014, our work in building construction, civil and power/industrial construction, commercial development and infrastructure development (public-private partnerships) generated $7.3 billion in revenue. Global revenue of parent company Skanska AB, headquartered in Stockholm and listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, totaled $21 billion in 2014. Skanska shares are publicly traded in the U.S. on the OTC market under the symbol SKBSY through a Level I American Depository Receipt program. www.usa.skanska.com
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