The 40-year-old Delancey and Essex Municipal Parking Garage in downtown Manhattan will receive a new cable fa'ade, under a recently announced $4-million NYC Department of Transportation renovation project.

Photo courtesy Micheielli + Wyetzner Architects

The renovated garage will include a 17-ft supergraphic.

A construction manager for the work has not yet been chosen, and the project will go out to bid in September, says a spokesperson for New York-based Michielli + Wyetzner Architects, which designed the façade for the five-story concrete structure. Construction is expected to begin by early 2012 with completion anticipated by the end of 2012.

The design is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Design + Construction Excellence Program that aims to enable the city to "pursue an innovative and ambitious public works program in partnership with the most creative and experienced design professionals in the world." The program allows the city to choose design firms based on their qualifications and past work instead of choosing the lowest bidder, according to the mayor's office. Michielli + Wyetzner Architects won the NYC Design Commission's 2011 design award.

The renovation will include an elevator upgrade, roof repairs, restriping of concrete flooring, and the addition of 22 bicycle spaces and a protective coating.

The architects say the project is unusual because of the size of the 1-1/4 inch cables on the three-dimensional facade. The garage cables will be thicker, lighter and made from different materials — a fiberglass core and a woven stainless steel jacket — than cables typically used by DOT for this type of project. The facade will cover the garage's two entrances, with the Essex Street entrance to receive a 17-ft DOT supergraphic that will have the word "Park" in giant letters on it.