52 and 54 Lispenard today. Credit: Mary Gillen

52 and 54 Lispenard Proposed Design

Two-story building on Lispenard Street will get three stories and a set-back, two-story penthouse; adjacent five-story building gets a penthouse addition. After rejecting two prior plans, Landmarks approved Murat Bugdaycay’s development proposal for two store-and-loft buildings on Lispenard Street in the Tribeca East Historic District. The plan calls for adding three stories and a set-back, two-story penthouse to a two-story building at 52 Lispenard Street, and a smaller, two-story penthouse to the neighboring five-story building at 54 Lispenard Street. 52 Lispenard once matched its neighbor’s height, but lost three stories after a fire in 1937. Both buildings feature cast-iron elements.

Landmarks in February 2012 denied Bugdaycay’s initial proposal for the buildings. The Studio JS2-designed plan proposed demolishing 52 Lispenard Street’s facade and replacing it with a five-story, terra-cotta facade and a two-story penthouse spanning both 52 and 54 Lispenard Street. (read CityLand’s past coverage here).

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Design for new building on Walker Street features reverse relief of castiron facade. On June 14, 2011, Landmarks approved Abra Construction’s proposal to develop a nine-story residential building on a narrow, vacant lot at 83 Walker Street in the Tribeca East Historic District. Landmarks in 2003 approved a plan to build an eight-story glass and metal building on the lot, but the project was never developed.

Architect Morris Adjmi presented Abra’s proposal at Landmarks’ hearing on May 17. Adjmi described the building’s facade as a “negative of a cast-iron building,” in which the features of a typical cast iron facade would be reversed. Instead of curving out, columns would be indented into the glass-reinforced concrete facade. The cornice would step back instead of forward, and windows would protrude from the facade instead of being recessed. The building would feature three window bays, and as initially proposed, the slightly taller ground floor would feature the same arched windows as the rest of the building. In addition to Landmarks’ approval, Abra would also need to obtain City Planning Commission variances to modify the zoning resolution’s height and setback requirements. (more…)

Landmarks found that contemporary, sculptural facade recalled district’s historical character. On April 19, 2011, Landmarks unanimously approved Douglas and Michelle Monticciolo’s proposal to add two floors on top of a three-story building at 187 Franklin Street in the Tribeca West Historic District. The proposal, opposed by the community board, called for a new, sculptural-brick facade above the first floor. The existing building replaced a 1923 one-story garage that was demolished in 1992.

Historic preservation consultant Bill Higgins, representing the Monticciolos, argued that the project’s “adventurous and sculptural design” took its cues from the historic district. Higgins provided an overview of nearby buildings that exemplified the characteristics of the Tribeca West Historic District, including the tradition of crafted ornamental brick, deep facades, and balconies. He pointed to the use of ornamental brick on the individually-landmarked Western Union Building at 60 Hudson Street, and cited the Civic Center Synagogue as an example of avant-garde and sculptural design within the district. (more…)

Proposed eight-story hotel would replace collapsed building on throughblock lot fronting Chambers and Reade Streets. On February 8, 2011, Landmarks considered Fishman Holdings’ proposal to build a new eight-story hotel on a now-vacant lot at 87 Chambers Street in Manhattan’s Tribeca South Historic District. The through-block lot has frontages on Chambers and Reade Streets and is located between Church Street and Broadway. In 2008, Landmarks approved Fishman Holdings’ plan to convert the lot’s dilapidated store-and-loft building into a hotel. In 2009, however, the building partially collapsed and Buildings ordered that the entire structure be demolished. The current proposal closely adheres to the massing of the previously approved project.

According to David West, of Goldstein Hill & West Architects, the new building would rise six stories and then set back fifteen feet before rising two additional stories. The set-back floors and rooftop mechanical equipment would only be visible from limited vantage points. The building’s ground floor frontages would feature metal and glass storefronts, and cast-iron columns salvaged from the collapsed building would be incorporated into the Reade Street frontage. The upper floors would be divided into four bays and clad in limestone with granite accents. The Chambers Street and Reade Street facades would feature different fenestration. The hotel’s entrance lobby would be located along the Reade Street frontage, with retail or restaurant use on the ground floor along Chambers Street. The overall building height would be one foot taller than the previously approved proposal. (more…)

Developer modified seven-story project’s facade details in response to concerns expressed at prior hearing. On November 16, 2010, Landmarks approved Real Estate Equities Corporation’s revised proposal to construct a seven-story residential building at the corner of Franklin and Varick Streets in the Tribeca West Historic District. At the proposal’s prior hearing the Commissioners asked the project’s architect to modify the design by strengthening the building’s base and increasing the amount of masonry in its facades. Commissioners also disliked that the City’s underlying zoning regulations would prohibit the building from extending to the property’s southern lot line. 7 CityLand 142 (Oct. 15, 2010).

At the November meeting, Landmarks staff member John Graham said the revised design was intended to ensure the building would be contextual with the district. (more…)