Location
51 Astor Place
Completion
2013
Client
JSM Associates 1 LLC
Square Footage
400,000 SF
Design Architect
Maki and Associates
Executive Architect
AAI Architects, P.C.
LEED
Gold
51 Astor Place
Sciame was the Construction Manager responsible for the construction of the new office tower on the Bowery at 51 Astor Place. The building was designed by Pritzkerprize winning architect Fumihiko Maki’s firm Maki and Associates. The state of the art building combines office space on the upper floors with retail and academic space on the bottom two floors and basement.
The full block building sets back at the 5th floor where a green roof provides both a usable outdoor space for tenants and an environmentally friendly roof system that controls water runoff and temperature insulation.
The facade is energy efficient low-e structurally glazed glass and aluminum curtain wall. This site encouraged the design of a symbolic and lasting building to stand as a landmark within the Greenwich Village neighborhood. To address the large monolithic buildings along 4th Avenue, portion of the building was sheathed in a darktint, structurally glazed, unitized curtain wall system to conform to the existing streetscape. In stark contrast to the monolithic quality of the 4th Avenue facade, the 3rd Avenue facade was sheathed in a unitized curtain wall system with silver vertical louvers. Depending on the angle in which the vertical louvers are viewed, the facade achieves varying degrees of transparency, continuously changing in appearance.
Project Awards
BOMA Pinnacle Award
New Construction
What a night! A huge thank you to everyone who came out on Wednesday to represent Team Sciame at the 2025 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Central Park!
Despite the weather, the Sciame team showed up strong, lacing up and powering through the 3½-mile course!
We’re proud of the determination, camaraderie, and good humor everyone brought to a soggy evening in the park.
#jpmcc
New York Construction’s Contractor of the Year – Looking back, 2006 was a standout year for Sciame Construction. We were honored as Contractor of the Year, a testament to our growing reputation for delivering some of New York City’s most architecturally daring and culturally significant projects.
In April 2006, Sciame Construction completed the Morgan Library and Museum Expansion, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and BBB Architects. The project was led by then EVP/Division Head Joseph Mizzi, who began his career at Sciame 11 years earlier in 1995.
The following month, our founder, Frank Sciame, passed the torch of day-to-day leadership by promoting Joseph Mizzi to President of Sciame Construction, while continuing to serve as Chairman and CEO.
This leadership transition helped shape the next chapter of our story, and was memorialized in the cover photo of New York Construction, and the firm’s Contractor of the Year honor.
Thanks a Half-Billion! – At Sciame Construction, we proudly led the effort to reimagine the WTC Memorial and Museum, a project of national significance. Frank Sciame, our founder, was tasked with creating a design that honored the original vision while staying within a $500 million budget. Working closely with Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and a team of 13 advisers, including notable figures like Jack Rudin and Robert Douglass, we developed cost-effective design options, ultimately reducing the budget from nearly $1 billion to $510 million. Our approach preserved key elements like the voids, waterfalls, and pools while optimizing infrastructure and resizing the museum. Sciame’s commitment to excellence ensured a memorial that balances beauty, dignity, and sustainability.
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center – Though relatively small in size, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center was a technically complex project successfully constructed and delivered by Sciame Construction. This groundbreaking laboratory made an outsized impact on global health. It was here that Dr. David Ho pioneered the development of the revolutionary “AIDS cocktail,” a combination therapy that transformed HIV from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable condition. His groundbreaking work earned him the title of TIME magazine’s Man of the Year, underscoring the center’s profound contribution to the fight against the AIDS epidemic.
