Revised Congress Street project. Image courtesy: Morris Adjmi Architects

The Morris Adjmi-designed project includes renovating and enlarging four existing rowhouses and building five new rowhouses along Congress Street. On October 16, 2012, Landmarks approved Congress Street Development LLC’s multi-rowhouse development project at 100 through 128 Congress Street in the Cobble Hill Historic District. Congress Street Development plans to restore and enlarge four rowhouses by adding one-story, set-back rooftop additions. The developer will also replace an abutting low-rise garage with five four-story rowhouses.

At a September 2012 hearing, the commissioners asked the developer to revise the proposal. The commissioners disliked the metal stoops, proposed for all nine rowhouses, which would be in a side-stair configuration, as being atypical for the district. The commissioners also found the zinc-clad rooftop additions too visible, and recommended more clearly differentiating between the renovated rowhouses and new rowhouses. (See Cityland’s coverage of the hearing here.)

(more…)

Congress Street project rendering.

Developer wants to restore and enlarge four mid-19th century rowhouses and replace a low-rise garage with five rowhouses. On September 11, 2012, Landmarks considered Congress Street Development LLC’s proposal to restore four circa 1850 rowhouses, demolish a 1983 two-story garage and replace the garage with five, single-family rowhouses at 110 through 128 Congress Street in the Cobble Hill Historic District. The four rowhouses, which had been used as hospital buildings, and garage extend from mid-block of Congress Street to the corner at Hicks Street.

At the hearing, Ward Dennis of Higgins Quasebarth & Partners LLC testified on behalf of the developer. According to Dennis, St. Peter’s Hospital had used the four existing rowhouses beginning in the 1870s. The hospital converted the four buildings into a single unit by the 1880s. The existing garage had been built in 1983 with Landmarks’ approval. The developer plans to convert the existing rowhouses to single-family homes.

(more…)

CWB Architects rendering of 437 Henry Street project

Landmarks suggested minor changes for proposed project at the corner of Henry and Kane Streets. On August 7, 2012, Landmarks approved a proposal to develop a four-story building and two-story carriage house at 437 Henry Street in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill Historic District. The lot sits on the corner of Henry and Kane Streets, and is occupied by a concrete-walled garden. The carriage house would be built behind the main building and face Kane Street.

CWB Architects’ Brendan Coburn presented the proposal. Coburn noted that his firm had designed the three rowhouses proposed for an adjacent lot at 2 Strong Place, which Landmarks had approved in February 2012. Coburn said the Henry Street project would utilize the “same language” of brick and pre-cast brownstone materials common in the district. Both the main building and the carriage house would feature brick facades, brownstone lintels, and fiberglass cornices. The four-story building’s windows and cornice line would align with the neighboring buildings. A portion of the side wall would project slightly on the Kane Street facade to gain floor area. Mechanical equipment would be concealed within the building’s attic. The building would have a slightly more modern design at the rear facade, visible from Kane Street, with a two-story projecting bay window. (more…)

Proposed Rendering for 112 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. Image Credit: BKSK Architects.

Testimony in opposition to new 4-story brick-clad building focused on contemporary design and size of bulkhead. On November 18, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal to construct a new building at 112 Atlantic Avenue, at the corner of Henry Street, in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill Historic District. The site is currently occupied by a 1960s gas station. The applicants proposed a new four-story residential building, with ground-floor commercial uses, and a garage for residents. (more…)

Opponents challenged 60-foot height. On September 17, 2007, the Planning Commission approved the special permit application of Two Trees Management Co. LLC, facilitating its controversial plan to build a six-story, 60-foot tall building adjacent to the South Brooklyn Savings Bank, a 1922 building located at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street within the Cobble Hill Historic District. Overall, the development would include 31,512 sq.ft. of residential space with 37 units, and 6,865 sq.ft. of ground-floor retail including a Trader Joe’s grocery store to be located within the now-vacant bank building.

Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, the new six-story building would occupy the bank’s parking lot and an adjacent lot containing a one-story office building, which Two Trees would demolish.

Two Trees’ plan required a waiver of the 50-foot height limit, and relief from rear yard, parking, and other zoning restrictions, which Two Trees sought in exchange for its plan to restore the historic bank. Landmarks approved the plan after Two Trees set back the sixth story to make it less visible from Atlantic Avenue and abandoned a plan for a stair and elevator tower linking the bank and residential building. (more…)