NYC Department of Design and Construction, 70 Mulberry Street – Chinatown Cultural Hub, New York, NY

“Size:
50,000 SF

highlights:
rescue and restoration of a historic Building

”

Originally constructed in 1892 as Public School 23, the building has served as a vital cultural and social space for over 130 years—becoming home to nonprofits such as the Museum of Chinese in America, H.T. Chen & Dancers, and the Chinatown Manpower Project. The reconstruction project honors this legacy while breathing new life into the structure.

SETTY is delivering MEP/FP design in partnership with Grimshaw Architects and Buro Happold, working to restore 70 Mulberry Street, a cherished community landmark in Chinatown that was severely damaged by fire in 2020. The new design highlights reuse and restoration of the historic 2-story facade and 6-story corner stair tower to preserve architectural heritage and approximately 50,000 SF of space restored for the building’s original nonprofit tenants.

The project is being delivered via a Construction Manager-Build (CM-Build) approach to accelerate procurement and enhance coordinated execution. $170 million in public funding supports the project.

SETTY’s engineering strategy focuses on durable, code-compliant systems, including advanced HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection infrastructure—all sensitively integrated into both heritage and new construction elements.

This project exemplifies SETTY’s commitment to civic infrastructure design, historic preservation, and sustainable community-engaged engineering—ensuring the revived 70 Mulberry remains a resilient and inclusive cultural anchor.