New York University Founders Hall

• Address: 120 East 12th Street, NYC
• Owner: New York University
• Architect: Perkins Eastman
• Status: Completed

120 East 12th Street, now called Founders Hall, was completed in December 2008 for New York University as student housing. The 26-story building provides 212 singles and suites that house over 700 first-year students, as well as four faculty apartments. The building offers amenities such as a shared laundry room, three lounges with wireless internet, and a landscaped rear terrace. Offices for residential life services, as well as a mail room and security office, are on the ground floor. The building includes a full building management system (BMS) that gives University building staff the ability to optimize energy usage and closely manage other operations and maintenance activities.

The development team worked closely as a partner with the University’s planning, construction, and property management staff to design a cost-effective project that met NYU’s specific needs on budget and on schedule. Materials and systems were carefully selected based on extensive consultations on the operational needs and experience of NYU staff. Full-time students began occupancy in August 2009 and NYU completed the purchase of the building.

A unique feature of the project is the “Westworks”, the historic façade of the St. Ann’s church, which was refurbished by Hudson to retain the historic character and continuity of the streetscape and provide an entry point to the publicly-accessible outdoor space. The facade was carefully cleaned and repointed by a specialist in steeple restoration. In response to community input, a replica of the historic wood framework was crafted to replace the deteriorated steeple and stained glass was restored or replaced.