5 Minutes With The Tin Building by Jean-Georges Team
The Tin Building by Jean-Georges, Awards for Excellence in Adaptive Reuse Finalist
Adam Meister, Senior Vice President of Development, The Howard Hughes Corporation
Who has had the greatest influence on your career and what was the best advice he or she gave you?
I’ve been fortunate to learn from terrific colleagues and mentors including Chuck Laven at HR&A, Marty Burger and Ken Himmel at Related and Saul Scherl at Howard Hughes with whom I worked closely on the Tin Building development at the Seaport. But the greatest influence on my career was probably my late father, who was a professor of public health. Though he was not involved in real estate, he was an urbanist and encouraged my interest in development as a path to “do well by doing good” by making a positive impact on people’s lives through the improvement of the built environment.
As a ULI NY Awards nominee, what makes you most proud of your project?
In redeveloping the Tin Building, we creatively responded to unique site challenges to adapt and reimagine the structure in a manner worthy of its former prominence as the central hub of the wholesale Fulton Fish Market in Lower Manhattan. As part of the project’s restoration, we carefully disassembled the building to salvage key elements of its original 100+ year-old historic fabric such as the cast iron columns. I’m very proud that we accomplished our preservation plan as well as the strategy to build a new pier six feet higher above the post-Sandy flood plain, then fully reconstructed the building 30 feet to the east on the elevated platform. The shift in location provided new public space and clearance from the FDR Drive, which had been built over the original Tin Building in 1949, while ensuring the iconic destination’s long–term resiliency. Though visitors may not know the extent of this work, I’m especially gratified to see the Tin Building come to life again as a modern market and community gathering place for locals and travelers alike.
What is your favorite off the beaten path New York location or activity?
There’s a tennis court in Grand Central Station tucked above Vanderbilt Hall. I share a court with a group of industry colleagues and tennis enthusiasts on Thursday mornings. It’s a great only-in-New York way to start the day.