PS 343

The PS 343 project consisted of converting an existing 3-story U.S. Postal Service Station located within Manhattan’s South Street Seaport historic district into a new public school serving the projected needs of the surrounding community. Located on Peck Slip between Pearl Street and Water Street, the new facility accommodates a capacity of 712 students in grades Pre-K through 5th grade.

The project encompasses approximately 97,000 square feet in 7 floors above grade. The project scope includes a 69,300-square-foot renovation and adaptive reuse of the four existing floors of the building and a 27,700-square-foot vertical addition of 3 new floors.

Designed by Graves – MMA Architects, the PS 343 school includes dedicated science classrooms, a library, a kitchen and dining complex, a flexible all-purpose “gymatorium”, and a rooftop playground. Enclosed by steel mesh, the rooftop playground allows students to play safely outdoors while looking out over lower Manhattan.

In such a busy part of the city, construction was a challenge. EW Howell Construction Group had to receive street closures for a staging area in front of the building, as well as maintain an outside hoist on the building to move men and materials. To do the exterior work of the building and add the aforementioned 3 new floors, contractors would have to work over the top of the adjacent buildings. Thus, the roofs of the adjacent buildings would have to be protected.

Another challenge came in the form of the property’s historic value. During the 19th century, Peck Slip was a slip where sailing ships came into the city. EW Howell had an archaeologist sift through the excavation as underground plumbing and electric were being implemented. The archaeologist didn’t find anything significant.

In order to relocate existing stairwells and add 3 new floors, the team had to do X-ray analyses off the existing concrete slab, including the roof, in order to locate rebar and coordinate every anchor for the new construction.

To add to the challenges, that winter in New York City was the fifth-coldest on record, so heating the building to allow continued construction was a challenge. The careful planning and perseverance of the team paid off.

In 2016, Learning by Design awarded PS 343 with the Outstanding Project recognition.