BSA- requested alternate design approved. Siba Re LP, the owner of 350 West Broadway, a 8,264-squarefoot lot in SoHo between Grand and Broome Streets, proposed to expand a vacant two-story building into a ISS-foot tall, 13-story, 4 1 ,320- square-foot mixed-use building with retail and residential uses.

In support of a variance, Siba argued that the shallowness of the lot resulted in inefficient and impractical floor plates for any permitted commercial use. Showing that the area’s typical bedrock levels are between 60 and 80 feet, Siba further argued that the 1 1 4-foot depth of bedrock under the site required additional construction costs that constituted an unnecessary hardship. Siba proposed to reinforce the original structure rather than demolish it because the unique soil conditions would make demolition cost-prohibitive. (read more…)