Due to the unusual demands the Hudson rail yards project posed, the team devised some innovative ways of doing business.

Instead of using standard forms published by the American Institute of Architects, the attorneys prepared their own construction documents and created special contracts to accommodate the unusually complex underlying requirements.

For example, Long Island Rail Road regulations required keeping the trains running while the platforms and buildings were being built. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority requirements limited when any track outages could take place. Plus, there were different insurance and indemnity demands, and the need for holding the MTA harmless if a situation of liability arose.

With a project of this scope, the lawyers determined the most effective insurance. Related and Oxford purchased an owner-controlled insurance program, in which contractors enrolled, instead of bringing their own insurance to the table. “The idea is you cut down on costs and cut down on all the claims between the different parties because you have one wrap-up program insuring the whole project,” says DiPerna.

Due to the scale of the project, Related and Oxford set up their own in-house construction company, named Hudson Yards Construction, to manage the work. They gave seasoned contractors including Tishman and Tutor Perini different parts of the job to manage, from procurements to monitoring work. This construction management method was far less common at the time. However, in just the handful of years since Lazaruk and DiPerna initially assisted in setting up such a contract structure, they have seen other developers take similar actions.

The size of the project also required taking special precautions to ensure availability of materials.

“Seeing the high rise of construction in the city, and the limited number of tower cranes, Related and Oxford purchased their own tower cranes to ensure they would have them for all of the tall buildings,” says Lazaruk. This helped ensure the job could be done on schedule.

“These projects require massive amounts of steel, so, they went around the world to different companies purchasing steel from different sources,” says DiPerna. “This way it was not all coming from one single source, and the risk was not all in one place.”