Proposed building at 146 Wooster Street. Image: Courtesy of LPC.

Seven-story plus penthouse building on Wooster Street would replace garage and parking lot. On May 3, 2011, Landmarks approved the design for a new seven-story building plus a penthouse at 146-150 Wooster Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The building would replace a one-story garage and a surface parking lot. The developer would need to obtain special permits from the City Planning Commission before developing the site, which is zoned for manufacturing.

The BKSK-designed building would utilize fiber-reinforced cast concrete, known as Ductal, and glass. The building’s outer facade would feature a grid of concrete piers of varying dimensions. The concrete piers would be set 28 inches in front of a continuous glass pane. BKSK’s Harry Kendall noted that many contemporary buildings the proportions of cast-iron. Kendall testified that the architectural team thought it would be interesting to “shift emphasis to the cast” rather than the iron.

The building’s projecting cornice would be built between the sixth and seventh stories in order to match the cornice heights of other buildings in the area. The penthouse would be set back 32 feet and would only be visible from limited vantage points. The developer intends to incorporate into the building’s concrete facade artwork created by the Portuguese painter Pedro Calapez. (read more…)

Community board and preservation groups supported rowhouses’ facade alterations but not the proposed rooftop addition. On November 10, 2009, Landmarks heard testimony on Aurora Capital Associates’ redevelopment proposal for four, three-story Greek Revival rowhouses at 21 through 27 Ninth Avenue in the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The proposal included restoring the 19th century buildings’ red-brick facade, replacing ground floor infill with steel and glass storefronts, replacing and extending a metal marquee, and converting the ground floor to retail use. Aurora would build an eleven-and- a-half foot tall steel and glass rooftop addition, set back fifteen feet, and spanning the three mid-block rowhouses at 21, 23, and 25 Ninth Avenue.

BKSK architect Harry Kendall testified that the inspiration for the rooftop addition came from the ironwork of the nearby elevated railroad tracks, and from viewing tax photos taken in the 1870s showing the rowhouses with chimneys, long since demolished. Kendall explained that recessed metal panels would divide the addition, reflecting the tripartite division of the buildings. He described the addition as “shipping container-ish” and said it would reflect the district’s industrial character. Kendall said the glass and steel addition’s transparency would reflect the “visible life” of the High Line. (read more…)