80-room luxury and extended stay hotel approved for vacant site. On August 19, 2003, Downtown Hotels LLC, with principals Robert DeNiro, Ira Drukier and Richard Born, obtained a permit to build a six-story brick and terra cotta luxury hotel on a vacant lot at 377-383 Greenwich Street at the corner of North Moore within the Tribeca West Historic District. The six-story building, with a small penthouse setback from the street, received strong support from Landmarks and Community Board 1 due to its scale and high-quality glazed terra cotta and brick facade.

Finding construction costs prohibitive, Downtown Hotels sought to amend the approved design in September 2004 to add two additional stories and eliminate the terra cotta. Landmarks denied the revision, finding the eight-story height “dominating” and the new material of significantly poorer quality than that originally proposed. (read more…)