Scott Rechler was negotiating a deal to build Airbnb rentals in a Manhattan office tower when the real estate developer had an epiphany. Tree houses and other unconventional lodgings were popular on the home-sharing site. Why not a ship?
RXR Realty Moving Forward with Plans to Restore Legendary Ocean Liner, the SS United States
RXR distributes Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) seeking partnership with US city for a permanent waterfront location to restore “America’s Flagship” to its former glory
March 10, 2020 (New York) – RXR Realty, a leading real estate owner, operator, and developer in the New York Tri-State area, in partnership with the SS United States Conservancy, announced today the next step in its plans to restore and redevelop “America’s Flagship,” the iconic ocean liner, SS United States. With its maiden voyage in 1952, the United States became the fastest ocean liner to ever cross the Atlantic, and at 100 feet longer than the RMS Titanic, the largest ever entirely made in America.
As part of RXR’s plan, the vessel will be repurposed as a permanently-moored floating structure anchored by a hotel program and a collection of unique hospitality and cultural spaces in the 600,000 square feet available for development. Those offerings would include a world class museum honoring the ship’s history and exploring mid-century design, art and innovation. This project will be landscape-altering for its home city, creating over 1,000 jobs, generating new direct and indirect economic activity, and activating the waterfront at its destination.
“The SSUS is an iconic piece of American engineering and design and we’re committed to finding a permanent home and restoring this one-of-a-kind luxury ocean liner into a vibrant, mixed-use destination,” said Scott Rechler, Chairman and CEO of RXR Realty.
In search of a permanent home for the United States, RXR is requesting expressions of interest from a number of major US waterfront cities with the intent of starting a conversation about how this unique project can be a major driver of economic activity through the creation of a new, contemporary centerpiece for their waterfronts. Those cities include Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
RXR has built its reputation on adapting and updating iconic assets for the 21st century tenant; their New York City portfolio alone includes the Helmsley Building, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, the Starrett-Lehigh Building, and the massive Pier 57 on Manhattan’s west side, which will house Google offices, City Winery, and rooftop screenings for the Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, RXR works closely with municipalities on large-scale, transformational projects, including their status as master developer for the City of New Rochelle, their partnership with JetBlue on a new terminal at JFK Airport, and their redevelopment of the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
For the United States, RXR has already assembled a best-in-class architectural and engineering team, including Perkins Eastman Architects, HLW, and Gibbs & Cox. The design team has a deep connection with the ship. Gibbs & Cox is the naval architect who originally designed the vessel, while an HLW partner on the team fondly remembers his own SS United States voyage as a six-year-old. The team was selected through a two-part design competition, which began in 2018 with an initial targeted request for expressions of interest to identify high-potential design concepts and teams. A shortlist of teams then completed an exhaustive request for proposals phase, which included detailed programming and design concepts.
“The SS United States has waited a long time for this opportunity," said Susan Gibbs, President of the SS United States Conservancy, which owns and cares for the vessel. "RXR’s outstanding team understands the historic importance and economic potential of this enduring symbol of national pride and innovation. We will continue to work closely with them as they seek to secure a permanent home for America’s Flagship. The Conservancy is committed to delivering an extraordinary museum and visitor experience to complement RXR's dynamic mixed-use program."
At 990 feet long, the SS United States is the equivalent of the Chrysler Building laid on its side. Once the pinnacle of American design, technological innovation and luxury, the SS United States had a top-secret secondary identity as the world’s fastest troop transport ship, designed as part of a Cold War Pentagon program. The ship hosted more than a million passengers during her service career including four US Presidents, numerous celebrities, and legions of tourists, students, diplomats and immigrants.
Over the next few months, RXR will evaluate responses to the location RFEI and expects to work collaboratively with preferred locations as design and development of the ship advances.
About RXR Realty
RXR Realty LLC (“RXR”), is a New York-based, vertically integrated real estate operating and development company with expertise in a wide array of value creation activities, including distressed investments, uncovering value in complex transactions, structured finance investments and real estate development. RXR’s core growth strategy is focused on New York City and the surrounding region. The RXR platform manages 75 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $20.5 billion, comprising approximately 25.5 million square feet of commercial operating properties and approximately 6,100 multi-family and for sale units in various stages of development in the New York Metropolitan area.
About the SS United States Conservancy
The SS United States Conservancy is a national nonprofit organization that leads the global effort to save and repurpose America’s Flagship, the SS United States. The Conservancy raises public awareness and financial resources for the iconic vessel’s maintenance, restoration and ultimate reuse as well as a world class museum collection of art, artifacts and archival resources relating to ship and American maritime history. The Conservancy’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the fastest ocean liner ever to cross the Atlantic remains an inspiration for generations to come. For more information about the SS United States Conservancy and America's Flagship, visit www.ssusc.org.
Media Contact:
John Griffin
DKC
john_griffin@dkcnews.com
212-981-5266
Innovative Design: The Famous Funnels of the SS United States
The SS United States' magnificent red, white and blue "sampan" funnels remain the tallest ever to be installed on a ship — at 65 feet they are themselves as tall as a 6-story building. Today, learn more about their innovative design.
Can you spot the differences between the iconic red, white and blue funnels of the SS United States (top) and SS America? Photograph courtesy of Jane Schuling.
Preventing fumes on deck from ships' funnels has always been a headache for the designers of ocean liners. Although it was proven that William Francis Gibbs' streamlined funnel design — used previously on the SS Santa Rosa, her three sister ships and the SS America — was also suitable for the great SS United States, some minor changes were made in order to improve the final result. This new design involved modifying the angle of the funnels' fins, making them parallel to the ship’s keel and not raked aft, as in all of Gibbs’ previous designs.
Wind tunnel tests prior to the vessel's construction further proved that the fins' rotation would direct the smoke fumes upward and aft, thanks to the strong wind currents created by at the trailing edge of the now horizontal fin design. The result was that decks remained virtually smoke-free, as never before achieved on a liner. The man responsible for this successful idea was not Mr. Gibbs himself, but a Newport News Shipyard apprentice named Howard E. Lee Jr., who, as a result of his experience with building and flying model airplanes, decided to apply the concept of ‘lift’ associated with airfoils to shipbuilding.
Top: images from the construction of the Big U's impressive funnels. Bottom: Howard E. Lee Jr. (on left) observes the smoke trail of the SS United States' funnels during a wind tunnel test.
Not only did the design of the SS United States' funnels serve to deflect engine exhaust away from passengers on deck, their angle lends the impression of motion and suggests a determination to race. The funnels are also asymmetrical, with the aft-most funnel marginally smaller than the fore-most. The proportions of the iconic painted stripes similarly differ: forward, the funnel is 75% red, 10% white and 15% blue; the aft-most funnel is 70.8% red, 11.7% white, and 17.5% blue.
Can't get enough of the SS United States? CLICK HERE to learn more about the vessel's innovative design.
While they remain in fantastic structural condition, the funnels of the SS United States have a weather-worn appearance at the vessel's current Philadelphia berth. Why doesn't the Conservancy repaint the funnels? CLICK HERE to find out.