New residential units planned for Hudson Street Building. Peter Moore Associates applied to Landmarks to convert the former American Express Building at 157 Hudson Street in the Tribeca North Historic District to residential units and to construct a three-story metal and glass rooftop addition. Moore’s proposal included plans to renovate the facade of the 1 866 Renaissance Revival style building, which had originally served as American Express’ stable when it operated an express delivery service. More recently, the building housed various nightclubs, but now it sits vacant.

At the original hearing, Landmarks expressed concern over the three-story height and visibility of the addition. After Moore reduced the addition’s height to two stories, Landmarks approved, finding that the addition would be minimally visible from the street and would not diminish the architectural and historical character of the building or the historic district. Landmarks also approved the change of use application, allowing Moore’s planned residential conversion to proceed to the Planning Commission for approval. (read more…)