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The Orchard

Soaring high above the Queens skyline, this 70-story edifice now reigns as the borough’s tallest residential tower.

Lead Contact

Project Details

Project Partners
Perkins Eastman
Owner
BLDG
Location
Long Island City, New York
Completion Date
Area
635,000 ft²
Height
811 ft
Number of Stories
70
Number of Units/Apartments
823
Project Awards

Annual Roger H. Corbetta Awards Program, Super Tall High-rise Merit Award, 2024.

The Orchard’s 69-story residential tower rises above surrounding Long Island City high-rises under a blue sky.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti
Street-level view of The Orchard’s entrance and exterior signage in Long Island City, Queens.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti
Close-up of The Orchard’s glass facade with stacked balconies and a regular window grid.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti
View of The Orchard’s glass tower and multi-story podium, showing the building’s base and balconies.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti
Low-angle view looking up at The Orchard’s tall glass facade and projecting balconies.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti
The Orchard’s 69-story residential tower rises above surrounding Long Island City high-rises under a blue sky.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti
Full-height view of The Orchard residential tower with signage, parking structure and nearby buildings in Queens.
The Orchard in Long Island City, New York. Thornton Tomasetti

Overview 

A new development in Queens has become the tallest residential building in the borough. The 70-story luxury tower includes more than 800 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Residents have access to amenities like a fitness center, pool, spa, basketball court, and movie-screening room. An adjacent exposed concrete parking structure connects seamlessly to the tower’s ground-floor lobby, and at the top, designed as an outdoor park, is the largest occupiable roof in New York City.

We are providing structural design services to Perkins Eastman for the tower's development.

Highlights

  • The structure was built over an active rail tunnel, which required a 10-foot-thick multilevel concrete mat spanning the tunnel and supporting the entire tower.
  • We engineered a series of full-story transfer girders – each more than 17 feet tall and ranging from seven to 10 feet in width – to support the building above a six-story podium that houses a basketball court and an adjacent swimming pool.
  • Because of the building’s height and slenderness, it required advanced engineering solutions, including a 14 KSI belt wall between the 37th and 38th floors, with embedded steel plates to handle high stresses.
  • A sloshing tank damper on the 70th floor helps reduce movement and improve occupant comfort.

Our Team

Eli Gottlieb
Eli Gottlieb
Managing Principal & New York Metropolitan Region Co-Leader
egottlieb@thorntontomasetti.com +1.917.661.7840 New York

Capabilities