The $1.4-billion Fulton Center project concluded in late 2014 after more than a decade of design and construction in the highly complicated urban landscape of post-9/11 New York City. The project was partially funded with $847 million from a special congressional appropriation, made available to repair, replace and enhance transportation infrastructure in Lower Manhattan.

The project involved rehabilitation of five underground stations and passages, and a signature transit center building that connects to more than 10 acres/four hectares of Manhattan real estate. Integrated architecture and engineering improved access to multiple subway lines and underground passageways used by about 300,000 passengers per day.

HDR led architectural and structural design services for all of the subway stations involved. Design work across this vast complex included reprogramming, station planning and enhanced circulation. Environmental upgrades and greater sustainability informed our station finishes and all aspects of design, which improved both access and accessibility. The resulting infrastructure features more than 11 Americans with Disabilities (ADA)-compliant elevators and  improved overall access via several new street-level entrances, including entrances inside historic buildings and within historic districts.

The resulting, new Fulton Center creates signature entry points for Manhattan’s downtown rapid transit system. It offers superior connections between 12 subway lines and expanded street entryways. Daily subway riders now enjoy improved access to the redeveloped World Trade Center site thanks to the addition of an underground, pedestrian corridor, and better connectivity between the subway and other transit modes. Today, enhanced accessibility, usability and aesthetics of the new Fulton Center continue to feed the economic recovery of Lower Manhattan.