Corner lot at 42 Crosby Street. Image Credit: Google.

Instead of a tower on a base, the revised project would rise to six stories at the streetwall, with a minimally visible penthouse. On May 14, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve a proposal to construct a new building at 42 Crosby Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The meeting was the third time the Commission addressed the proposal, and the Annabelle Selldorf-designed project underwent significant changes in its design since its initial proposal. The building will replace a parking lot and garage currently occupying the corner lot. The building will be primarily residential, with retail uses at the ground floor.

At the first hearing on the item, on December 11, 2012, the applicants presented a plan for a nine-story building clad in aluminum with a four-story tower setback from a five-story base. The plan called for horizontal bands of nine-foot-tall, double-hung horizontal windows. Selldorf said the design reflected the industrial character of the neighborhood, and that the use of aluminum in the facade related to SoHo’s historic cast-iron architecture. Some of the commissioners objected to the building’s massing, and others asked for revisions to the facade materials. Chair Robert B. Tierney asked the applicants to revise the design in light of the commissioners’ comments.

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Corner lot at 42 Crosby Street. Credit: Google.

Revised plan included a higher street wall, a reduced setback tower, and alterations to the facade design. On February 12, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a revised proposal for a new building on a corner lot at 42 Crosby Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. A parking lot and garage currently occupy the site. Landmarks initially considered a plan for the site on December 11, 2012.

The original proposal called for a new building rising to 71 feet at the street wall, matching the adjacent cornice lines, with an additional four-story tower set back from the front facades. The facade would be composed primarily of molded aluminum and projecting glass windows. Commissioners were split on the appropriateness of the massing, and some asked that design details be further refined. No vote was taken on the original proposal.

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Rendering of 42 Crosby Street project, by Selldorf Architects. Image Courtesy: Historic Districts Council.

Landmark commissioners split on Annabelle Selldorf designs for a five-story building at the streetwall, with set-back four-story tower, faced in glass and aluminum. On December 11, 2012, the Landmarks Preservation Commission heard a proposal for the construction of a new structure at 42 Crosby Street, at the corner of Broome Street. The space, located in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, is currently occupied by a parking lot and garage, which would be demolished. The proposed building would be primarily residential, with ground-floor retail use.

According to Greenberg Traurig attorney Jay Segal, the project would require a special permit from the Department of City Planning because of a text amendment governing new development in the district, and because the lot’s M1-5B zoning does not permit the planned uses. In addition, a permit is needed for a reduction in the amount of accessory parking and for an exterior sun-control device. The building’s base would rise to 71 feet, with the additional four stories setback 20 feet from the facades. The set-back portion would be visible from many nearby vantages.

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