Rendering of proposed development as it would appear when viewed from Whitney Museum. Image credit: BKSK Architects

Scale and massing of proposed new building and additions require moderation. On February 9, 2016, Landmarks heard the applicants’ response to criticism from those who testified at a public hearing on November 10, 2015, concerning the redevelopment of a block face in the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The work encompasses 46-48, 50, 52-58, 60-68, and 70-74 Gansevoort Street, between Greenwich and Washington Streets. The five buildings comprise three tax lots. The block is diagonally across from the new Whitney Museum.

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Community board and preservation groups supported rowhouses’ facade alterations but not the proposed rooftop addition. On November 10, 2009, Landmarks heard testimony on Aurora Capital Associates’ redevelopment proposal for four, three-story Greek Revival rowhouses at 21 through 27 Ninth Avenue in the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The proposal included restoring the 19th century buildings’ red-brick facade, replacing ground floor infill with steel and glass storefronts, replacing and extending a metal marquee, and converting the ground floor to retail use. Aurora would build an eleven-and- a-half foot tall steel and glass rooftop addition, set back fifteen feet, and spanning the three mid-block rowhouses at 21, 23, and 25 Ninth Avenue.

BKSK architect Harry Kendall testified that the inspiration for the rooftop addition came from the ironwork of the nearby elevated railroad tracks, and from viewing tax photos taken in the 1870s showing the rowhouses with chimneys, long since demolished. Kendall explained that recessed metal panels would divide the addition, reflecting the tripartite division of the buildings. He described the addition as “shipping container-ish” and said it would reflect the district’s industrial character. Kendall said the glass and steel addition’s transparency would reflect the “visible life” of the High Line. (read more…)