For 101 years, the Staten Island Ferry has been the only non-vehicular mode of transportation between Manhattan and Staten Island, transporting 20 million commuters annually on a scenic, 5-mile voyage across Upper New York Harbor.

The new terminal includes a 19,000-square-foot waiting room, 10,000 square feet of office space, 10,000 square feet of ancillary support and ferry operation rooms, and 6,000 square feet of concessions. It replaces the original 1907 Whitehall Ferry Terminal, which was badly damaged in 1991 by a fire that completely destroyed its main waiting room. An interim waiting room opened in 1992. The new inter-modal Whitehall Ferry Terminal was designed to provide uninterrupted ferry serv­ice to 75,000 daily commuters plus tourists and create efficient connections to subway, bus, and taxi services.

Special Design Features
Reinforcing its “Gateway to Manhattan” image and location, the airy, contemporary building features a 75-foot-high entry hall with a glass façade that provides panoramic views of the Lower Manhattan skyline and New York Harbor. Above the terminal are photovoltaic solar panels, supplying a portion of the building’s power. Whitehall Ferry Terminal boasts a new, state-of-the-art heating and air-conditioning system, including a radiant floor, a high-tech public address system, and programmable interior and exterior LED signage capable of transmitting moving images and text in full color.

Design/Construction Challenge
As Lower Manhattan’s main transportation hub, the terminal required complex construction phasing to allow two of the three ferry slips to be in continuous operation for the duration of the project. Work was planned around a detailed schedule based on such items as removing a ferry slip from service, completing construction of each slip, providing access to the new slip for the ferry passengers, returning the slip to service, and removing the next slip from service.