The Farm Colony-Seaview Hospital Historic District, where a proposed development plan would demolish five buildings for senior housing and other uses. Image credit: LPC
Plan for former Farm Colony would entail the demolition five out of eleven historic structures in the district, create senior housing. On September 30, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application for the redevelopment of the New York City Farm Colony-Seaview Hospital Historic District, located in Staten Island in the Castleton area. The 45-acre property, which housed indigent and disabled New Yorkers in exchange for labor, operated roughly from 1898 to 1975, and was developed from 1874 to the 1930s. In addition to being a landmarked historic district, the Farm Colony is also zoned in a special natural area district, which mandates the preservation of any unique natural features. The colony’s buildings have been little maintained since its abandonment. The City has been actively working to revitalize the area since the 1990s, with the most recent request for expressions of interest issued in 2012. Staten Island-based NFC Associates were selected as the developers. (more…)
New rendering of 130 Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Image Credit: BKSK Architects.
Architecture firm BKSK replaced Gruzen Samton on a proposal for new seven-story structure where one-story building now stands. On January 21, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing for a proposed seven-story development on a triangular site at 130 Seventh Avenue South in the Greenwich Village Historic District, where a 1937 one-story building now stands. Landmarks previously held a hearing on the site’s development in July 2013. At a later public meeting, commissioners advised that the proposal required significant rethinking before it could be approved, but also determined that the existing one-story, heavily altered structure did not contribute substantially to the historic district and could be demolished. (more…)
Updated rendering of new proposed Domino redevelopment. Image Credit: SHoP Architects.
New owners intend to use building for office space instead of previously approved residential plan. On December 17, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on an application by Two Trees Management for a certificate of appropriateness for the 2007 individually landmarked former Domino Sugar Refinery, located at 292 Kent Street in Brooklyn. In 2008, Landmarks approved a redevelopment plan for the factory that included a glass roof addition. In 2010, the City Council approved associated special permits and rezoning that would permit the residential conversion of the building as a centerpiece of a large-scale redevelopment of the Williamsburg area that would include four new mixed-use buildings. Two Trees acquired the site from original developer CPC Resources in 2012. (more…)
Rendering of original proposed reconstruction at site of Old St. Patrick’s Convent and Girls School. Approved rendering not available. Image Credit: LPC
Application affecting individual landmark would include the demolition of a 1950s extension and the construction of a glass brick townhouse. On October 8, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposed project for a portion of the 1966-designated Old St. Patrick’s Convent and Girls School. The project site, located at the corner of Prince and Mott Streets in Manhattan, was originally built as an orphanage and was most recently used as school. The project proposes to demolish an addition to the building from 1950 which faces Mott Street, and build a new one-family townhouse. Additional extensions would be built on the roof of an 1860 extension, also facing Mott Street. The owners would also restore the orphanage building and convert it for residential use.
Monsignor Donald Sakano of Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral testified that the school, which had long occupied the building, closed three years ago. He stated that the church intended to use the proceeds from the sale of the building to maintain and restore the church’s other historic structures. Sakano said the church would retain use of three stories in the former orphanage, primarily to further its work in adult education. Abby Hamlin, President of developer Hamlin Ventures, testified that the work proposed would include the “superb” restoration of the façade of the original 1826 orphanage building, while redeveloping the interior for residential use. She stated that the work constituted a “modest expansion” of the existing square footage, which is much less than what would be allowed as-of-right under the area’s zoning. (more…)
Carol Samol
As director of the Department of City Planning’s Bronx Office, Carol Samol uses zoning tools to promote sustainable economic development in the Bronx. She has also participated as a leader in a broader City effort to reform the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure’s pre-certification process.
Journey to the Bronx. Samol grew up in the upper Ohio Valley near Wheeling, West Virginia and studied English at Berea College, a small liberal arts college in Kentucky. Berea College admits academically promising students who are able to attend for free so long as they work in some capacity for the school. After graduation, Samol moved to the Bronx where she earned a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from Fordham University. Philosophy served as an extension of Samol’s English studies, allowing her to expand her analytic skills. Samol searched for a practical application of her studies, ultimately developing an interest in urban planning. She attended New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and earned a Master’s in Urban Planning. Samol says that she felt an instant and personal connection to the Bronx, the borough where she continues to reside. Ultimately, Samol knew that she would help work towards the borough’s redevelopment.
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