By late 1908, the site was being cleared. Bids for foundation work were opened in December 1908, with the contract being awarded to the J. H. Gray Company. However, the original building plans were rejected by the city's buildings superintendent the same month because he felt that the underlying layer of soil and sand was not strong enough to carry the building. This resulted in delays in the construction of the proposed Brooklyn loop line under the building. Ultimately, the Foundation Company was contracted to dig the foundation with caissons under a very high air pressure of . Work was done in 20 shifts of five men working for forty minutes each day; only two workers developed decompression sickness and neither of them died. In a January 1909 speech, McClellan praised the project as "one of the most important projects the City has ever undertaken". At the time, he predicted that the building would cost $8 million.