9 DeKalb Avenue. Project Rendering. Image Credit: JDS Development and the Chetrit Group.

Designated bank lobby will be converted to retail space, while new tower will accommodate residential use. On April 19, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve work impacting the individually designated Dime Savings Bank, as well as its lobby, an interior Landmark. The site lies at 9 Dekalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, on an irregularly shaped block bounded by Dekalb and Flatbush Avenues and Fulton Street. The proposed tower will displace the Williamsburgh Savings Bank as the borough’s tallest building. The work entails the demolition of a portion of the 1930s addition, the creation of a new entrance on Flatbush Avenue, and alterations to the lobby to adapt it to retail use. The new tower will be partially sited within the landmarked lot. The plan includes extensive restoration work to the bank building. (read more…)

The Hotel Chelsea

Despite opposition concerns, Chetrit Group gained approval to restore landmarked hotel’s facade and build rooftop addition to serve as a lounge. On April 24, 2012, Landmarks approved the Chetrit Group’s revised proposal to carry out exterior renovations and alterations to the landmarked Hotel Chelsea at 222 West 23rd Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. The 1883 Victorian Gothic hotel is notable not only for its architecture, but also for being a former home to a long list of notable artists and writers. Arthur C. Clarke wrote “2001: A Space Odyssey” while at the hotel, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan both memorialized the hotel in songs, and Andy Warhol used the hotel as the setting for his film Chelsea Girls. The Chetrit Group purchased the property in 2011 and plans to restore the hotel’s facade and build a one-story rooftop addition. Hotel Chelsea residents, neighbors, and elected officials opposed Chetrit’s proposal.

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Revised plan included less visible additions and more conservative facade alterations. On April 13, 2010, Landmarks approved the Chetrit Group’s revised proposal to convert six dilapidated rowhouses into three, double-wide townhouses with rooftop additions at 110 through120 East 76th Street. Chetrit’s original proposal included a request to partially demolish two of the 1885-era rowhouses and convert the six buildings into three townhouses with two-story additions. The plan called for significant facade alterations, including new street-level entrances and second floor balconies. At a January hearing, Tim Lynch, director of Buildings’ forensic engineering unit, testified that the buildings were progressively deteriorating. He recommended bracing the facades and demolishing at least two of the buildings to avert collapse. Landmarks approved the demolition in the interest of public safety, but said the proposed alterations diminished the buildings’ individual identities and the rooftop additions were too large and visible. 7 CityLand 13 (Feb. 15, 2010).

At the April hearing on the revised design, architect Gavin Macrae-Gibson noted that the proposed facade alterations would now be more in keeping with the rowhouses’ historical fabric. He explained that the facade of 116 East 76th Street would need to be rebuilt and that it would be re-clad in a Victorian-style cut brownstone. The ground floors of all the townhouses would now feature rusticated cut stone. The proposal still included two-story additions, but Macrae-Gibson pointed out that the overall height had been reduced by nine-and-a-half feet and the additions would be nearly invisible from street level. (read more…)

Landmarks approved plan to partially demolish deteriorating rowhouses, but expressed concerns about developer’s townhouse conversion proposal. On January 5, 2010, Landmarks approved part of the Chetrit Group’s redevelopment proposal for six 1885-era rowhouses at 110 through 120 East 76th Street in the Upper East Side Historic District. The proposal required two separate applications. Chetrit Group requested approval to partially demolish at least two of the deteriorated rowhouses, while retaining and stabilizing the front facades. Landmarks also considered the developer’s plan to convert the six rowhouses into three large townhouses with two-story additions.

At the hearing, Tim Lynch, director of Buildings’ forensic engineering unit, testified that the interiors of 112 and 114 East 76th Street were structurally compromised and progressively degrading. He said there was no way to salvage the two buildings beyond shoring and bracing their facades, and that the situation needed to be stabilized “immediately.” Lynch noted that the rowhouses rely on each other for stability and said 116 and 110 East 76th Street would be at risk as well. (read more…)