Jonathan Gann.
Jonathan Gann, 33
Associate principal and project manager at SOM
During his five-year tenure at SOM, Jonathan Gann has gotten to touch some of the city’s biggest and most interesting projects.
He served as the project manager for Vornado Realty Trust’s conversion of the Farley Post Office into an office building. The front half of the building — which stretches from Eighth to Ninth avenues between 31st and 33rd streets — is now Moynihan Train Hall. The 740,000-square-foot office portion presented its own challenges because the architects had to figure out how to carve out space for new elevators, staircases and utility lines without altering the landmarked exterior.
“We brought eight new cores into the building to make the vertical transportation Class A and create adequate egress,” Gann said. “We took a vertical skyscraper and laid it horizontal.”
He also worked on three ground-up, boutique office projects with GDSNY, a development firm co-founded by former SOM architect Michael Kirchmann. Two are already completed: the 23-story 1245 Broadway in NoMad and the 11-story 28&7 (named for the corner it occupies) in Chelsea. Finally, the third building at 118 10th Avenue in the Meatpacking District is expected to start construction next year.
“Getting to work with an owner who’s an architect leads to a special process that you don’t always get in development,” Gann said. He described the GDSNY projects as “jewel boxes” with unique touches. At 1245 Broadway, for example, the structural concrete serves as the facade, which is unusual.
He has also led SOM’s expansion into South Florida, where many large New York developers have begun building residential projects. He is overseeing the development of One Flagler, a 300,000-square-foot office building under construction in West Palm Beach, as well as a 61-unit condo in Bal Harbour.
Outside of work, Gann said he likes to spend time with his two kids, ages 1 and 4, and review movies with his friends on YouTube. —R.B.R.
