Jordan Most testifies before the Board of Standards and Appeals. Image credit: BSA

The building will replace a gas station and auto repair shop.  On September 18, 2015 the Board of Standards and Appeals approved a request by Henry Atlantic Partners LLC for a variance to construct a four-story mixed use building at 112 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill Historic District.  The building will offer 6,000 square-feet of ground floor retail space with 2,100 square-feet of accessory space in the cellar and 16,500 square-feet of residential floor area in the remaining three floors.  The site is currently occupied by a gas station and repair shop.’

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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.)

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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.

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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. (read more…)

Council Member de Blasio argued for modifications. On October 25, 2007, the City Council modified Two Trees Management Co.’s special permit application to construct a 6-story, 37-unit residential building adjacent to the South Brooklyn Savings Bank in Downtown Brooklyn. The proposal must now go back to the Planning Commission for approval.

Two Trees proposed to construct the building on the bank’s vacant parking lot and an adjacent lot. Located at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, the two lots fall within both the Cobble Hill Historic District and a Special Limited Height District. In exchange for restoring the historic bank, Two Trees sought a waiver from the area’s height limit, along with relief from other zoning restrictions. 4 CityLand 136 (Oct. 15, 2007). (read more…)

Church to be converted into residences in Cobble Hill Historic District. Landmarks approved an application by the owner of 58-70 Strong Place for alterations that will facilitate the conversion of an abandoned church and rectory into 23 residential units in the Cobble Hill Historic District, Brooklyn. (See photo on back cover.) Alterations to the 1852 Gothic Revival church and rectory will include removal of a modern two-story addition in the rear portion of the rectory and construction of a new three-story addition on the side yard. Rooftop additions, terrace cuts, window replacement, iron fences, and the addition of parking areas are planned.

Landmarks determined that the proposed alterations would retain the historic character of the church and were appropriate for the district. The conversion would not obscure the church’s historic features, and the rooftop addition would blend with existing historic features. Landmarks noted that the windows had deteriorated and needed replacement since the original stained glass was removed. (read more…)