MANHATTAN, NY GZA, a leading environmental and geotechnical consulting firm, announces that it will receive a 2017 New York ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence for the entry "Silver Star Mercedes Queens."

The Engineering Excellence Awards are presented to projects that encompass both the public and private sector in a series of categories. GZA was selected for the Diamond Award under the Structural Systems category for its participation in the Silver Star Mercedes Queens project.  The planned development will include a 10-story, 135,000-square-foot, mixed-use structure located in the eastern section of Long Island City featuring a Silver Star Mercedes-Benz dealership on the first two stories and 85 rental apartments on the upper floors. 

Geotechnical, instrumentation and environmental consulting engineering services include: multiple earth retention systems, conformance with Brownfield Remediation requirements, construction instrumentation and monitoring used to manage complications of building adjacent to an active subway station, in close proximity to existing utilities, performing underpinning and mat foundation installation below the water table. 

A complex series of earth retention systems was utilized consisting of underpinning, drilled-in soldier piles (essentially micropiles), timber and concrete lagging, soil anchors and inclined rakers supported by the partially constructed foundation mat. GZA assisted the owner regarding the project's designation from the New York City Office of Remediation.

Each year, more than 60 ACEC member firms submit projects that are judged on a rigorous set of criteria, including complexity, innovation and value to society. These projects are judged by a panel of industry experts, which includes military and government officials, ACEC National and International leadership, educators from colleges' and universities' engineering departments and leadership from other organizations dedicated to the built environment. 

All Diamond Award projects will be in contention for the Empire Award, an honor given to the highest rated project in New York State; the winner of the Empire Award will be announced during the 50th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, a black-tie event slated on April 1, 2017, at the Hilton Midtown in New York City, New York.

GZA's "Silver Star Mercedes Queens" project has also been designated as one of the finalists to represent the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York in the national competition sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).