Schimenti Builds REI in Landmark Building
Ridgefield, CT – REI, one of the largest product brands in the outdoor industry, chose Schimenti Construction to build its new flagship store in the SOHO district of New York City. The 39,000 square foot store, which includes a complete New York City bike shop, is located in the historic Puck Building, 303 Lafayette Street, New York.
The Puck Building built in 1885 and expanded 8 years later, is on the National Register of Historic Places and has received recognition by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. It was once the lithographing and publishing industry’s largest building in the world, home to J. Ottmann Lithographing Company and Puck Magazine. In recent years, the first floor of the building hosted a variety of New York signature events.
Designed by Callison Architects, 148 Lafayette Street, New York, the store keeps a number of historic elements of the original building intact. Some of the unique components retained in the building of the new store includes two nine-ton, 14-foot flywheels from steam engines that originally powered the printing press, cast-iron columns, original chandeliers and lithograph tablets dating back to the early 1900s.
Schimenti project manager, Gregg Chappell said, "the three-level retail environment was completed within 40 weeks and great efforts were taken to preserve and honor the historic building elements while meeting the needs of a modern retailer. Layers of wood, plaster and paint were carefully removed to expose the yellow pine timbers, cast-iron columns and the arched brick ceilings. The exposed building elements were simply clear-coated and sealed and their natural character displayed. When working with historic buildings, the handcrafted nature of the original construction is drastically contrasted against the modular nature of modern construction. We worked diligently to modify these archaic building elements with modern means and methods without losing their intrinsic charm. The result was a unique blend of historic and new."
Schimenti Construction, headquartered in Ridgefield with offices in New York City, has earned a strong reputation in the retail construction industry and has developed a solid niche in urban construction. “That’s why so many leading retailers have come to Schimenti to build their ‘flagship’ stores in Manhattan,” Schimenti President, Matthew Schimenti said. “Our thorough understanding of how to get things done in the hectic New York environment, our extensive experience in working with historic locations and difficult delivery processes, along with our dedicated team of construction professionals are just some of the reasons we’ve been selected to create so many of these truly special stores,” he added.
Retail giants such as Barnes & Noble, Fossil, Hollister, Starbucks, Sunglass Hut, and Zara have turned to Schimenti to build their “flagship” stores.
