Proposed eight-story hotel would replace collapsed building on throughblock lot fronting Chambers and Reade Streets. On February 8, 2011, Landmarks considered Fishman Holdings’ proposal to build a new eight-story hotel on a now-vacant lot at 87 Chambers Street in Manhattan’s Tribeca South Historic District. The through-block lot has frontages on Chambers and Reade Streets and is located between Church Street and Broadway. In 2008, Landmarks approved Fishman Holdings’ plan to convert the lot’s dilapidated store-and-loft building into a hotel. In 2009, however, the building partially collapsed and Buildings ordered that the entire structure be demolished. The current proposal closely adheres to the massing of the previously approved project.

According to David West, of Goldstein Hill & West Architects, the new building would rise six stories and then set back fifteen feet before rising two additional stories. The set-back floors and rooftop mechanical equipment would only be visible from limited vantage points. The building’s ground floor frontages would feature metal and glass storefronts, and cast-iron columns salvaged from the collapsed building would be incorporated into the Reade Street frontage. The upper floors would be divided into four bays and clad in limestone with granite accents. The Chambers Street and Reade Street facades would feature different fenestration. The hotel’s entrance lobby would be located along the Reade Street frontage, with retail or restaurant use on the ground floor along Chambers Street. The overall building height would be one foot taller than the previously approved proposal. (read more…)