Pier A, at the northern edge of Battery Park, in Lower Manhattan. Photo: CityLand.

Commissioners praised overall plan for long-dormant and dilapidated landmarked building, but requested modifications to its paint scheme. On February 16, 2010, Landmarks approved changes to a renovation plan for Pier A, an individual City landmark in Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park. In 1992, Landmarks issued a report approving Pier A’s renovation and adaptive reuse. The new plan included changes to the proposed paint scheme and to the doors and windows. The three-story, Beaux-Arts style Pier A building was completed in 1886 and served as headquarters for the City’s Department of Docks, the NYPD’s Harbor Precinct, and the FDNY’s Marine Division, but has remained vacant since 1993. The Battery Park City Promenade, built by the City in the 1990s, surrounds the building on three sides. The Battery Park City Authority is funding the renovation project.

Hugh Hardy of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture said the project is not strictly a restoration, but rather an interpretation intended to be a “layering of our own use on top of others.” Jack Martin, H3’s project manager, said the building is currently leaning “a couple of degrees” to the south and that the pier’s superstructure is being upgraded to hold up the leaning structure. Pier A’s internal floor and shell components will also be upgraded to allow for maximum flexibility of use. Martin noted that the building’s future use had not been determined, but pointed out that the Authority had recently issued a Request for Qualifications. (read more…)

BAM to restore former Salvation Army building’s facade and construct six-story rear addition. On June 16, 2009, Landmarks approved the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s proposal to build a new theater by renovating and expanding a two-story building at 321 Ashland Place within the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District. The site, occupied by the classically-inspired red brick building built by the Salvation Army in 1927, lies between BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House and the individually- landmarked Williamsburgh Savings Bank. The plan would restore and alter the facade, demolish the building’s rear extension, and construct a six-story building containing a 255-seat theater in its place.

At the hearing, BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins testified that the academy was the oldest performing arts center in the City, and that the proposed project, along with other renovations in the past decade, would ensure that its mission continued into the 21st century. Hopkins stated that the new building would provide “an intimate performance space” unlike any other BAM facility, and added that BAM would partially devote the space to community and education programs. (read more…)