Applicant claimed that combining office building and residential townhouse would improve surrounding area. On August 20, 2009, the City Council approved a developer’s plan to combine two buildings on East 94th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues into one 67-foot, six-story residential building within the Carnegie Hill Historic District. Originally built in the 1890s, developers converted 4 East 94th Street into a seven-story, 75-foot office building in 1963. The second building is a five-story, 58-foot residential townhouse at 6-8 East 94th Street.
The developer’s plan called for reducing the height of the 75-foot office building and increasing the townhouse’s height to create a uniform height of 67 feet, exceeding the area’s 60-foot height limit. The plan would open up the rear yard by demolishing a one-story addition behind the office building that extends to its lot line. The developer would replace the one-story addition with a six-story, five-and-a-half foot rear facade extension, creating a new 30-foot rear yard. (read more…)