Rendering of proposed building for 39-41 West 23rd Street. Image credit: COOKFOX Architects

Through-lot building is opposed by Manhattan Borough President and Community Board 5. On February 4, 2015 the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed residential tower at 39-41 West 23rd Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. The site is zoned M1-6 and is surrounded by commercial use buildings, but has been the subject of residential development attempts since 2006. (See previous CityLand coverage here and here.)

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Proposed Rendering of 1010 Park Avenue, Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC.

Park Avenue Christian Church, which would demolish annex for mixed-use development in partnership with Extell, claimed finding was necessary to maintain historic church fabric and its religious mission. On October 21, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposal for the demolition of an existing church annex and the construction of a new 15-story building on property belonging to and adjacent to the Park Avenue Christian Church at 1010 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The property lies in the Park Avenue Historic District, designated in 2014. To the south of the annex stands a 13-story apartment building completed in 1916 to designs by architect Emery Roth, an architect renowned for his hotels and apartment buildings. The development would be done in conjunction with Extell. (read more…)

Rendering of development at 298-308 Lafayette Street, view from Houston Street toward the west. Image Credit: CookFox Architects.

Commissioners embrace plan by CookFox Architects that would replace gas station, garage, bar and billboard. On April 9, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for the construction of a new, seven-story building at 298-308 Lafayette Street. The three lots face the Puck Building and are at the corner of Lafayette and Houston Streets in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District Extension. The plan calls for the demolition of three existing structures that currently occupy the site. This includes the demolition of the Puck Fair bar, Houston Car Care, a BP gas station, and a billboard. The new building will be used for office and retail space.

Developer Marcello Porcelli, President of LargaVista Companies, said the plan utilizes the site for “a higher and better use” than its current occupants. Porcelli said “we were extremely selective in choosing the right steward for this design process,” and that sustainability was a “guiding principle” of the project.

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