Following criticism of earlier design from preservationists and the local Council member, applicants revised design to better integrate with district and reconcile two distinct facades. On October 7, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve an application to demolish an existing one-story building and construct a new five-story development at 192 Seventh Avenue South in the Greenwich Village Historic District at the corner of 11th Street. The building will be residential, with ground-floor retail.

The Landmarks Commission first heard a proposal for the development of the site in April of 2014. The April proposal, with a masonry facade facing 11th Street that would reflect historic brownstone architecture in “an abstracted fashion,” would have a contemporary glass-and-metal curtain wall facing the avenue. The proposal was criticized by Council Member Corey Johnson, as well as preservationist organizations. Commissioners found the proposed architecture to read as too commercial, especially along Seventh Avenue, and recommended that the two distinct facades be better woven together so the new structure would be perceived as one building. Commissioners did not object to the existing building’s demolition.

At the October meeting, Edward Carroll of SRA Architecture and Engineering presented the revised plan. The 11th Street facade would have more articulation after the introduction of lintels, coursing, and sills. It would be clad in brick with a granite base, and a glass-faced studio at the upper level. Masonry bands would be added to the glass portion of the building, aligning with those on 11th Street. Metal on the curtain wall would be changed from black to white, and the base on the avenue would be lowered to better match the district’s historic storefronts. The curtain wall would wrap around the corner onto 11th Street for the width of one bay. Carroll said the revisions would serve to make the new structure more “sympathetic” and “subtle,” though still with two distinct facades that would reflect the cutting through of the block by the extension of Seventh Avenue.

Higgins & Quasebarth’s Cas Stachelberg further testified that the proposal was as-of-right under the lot’s zoning. Stachelberg noted that the existing building on the site, constructed in 1920 and reclad in 1946, was in poor condition and not a contributing building to the district.

Commissioners suggested ways in which the design could be improved, but ultimately determined it was appropriate for the site and the historic district as presented. Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan found there were a wide variety of buildings along Seventh Avenue South, and that the revised proposal responded well to its context. Commissioner Michael Goldblum opined that the schism between the two facades was not completely resolved, and the design would be more successful with more masonry added to the base at Seventh Avenue. Goldblum said the proposal “could be a better building,” but still fell within the parameters of appropriateness. Commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron, alternately, wished to see the two facades rendered more distinct to better reflect the cut-through of the extension of Seventh Avenue. Commissioner John Gustafsson commented “I don’t think any of it is inappropriate,” and the Commissioners unanimously concurred.

LPC: 192 Seventh Avenue South, Manhattan (14-7382) (Oct. 7, 2014) (Architects: SRA Architecture and Engineering).

Merchant House Museum, located in the NoHo Historic District Extension. Image Credit: Merchant House Museum.

Commissioners concluded that safeguards were sufficient to protect against damage to museum, and design would be unobtrusive within the historic district. On April 8, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission conferred for the fourth and final time on the appropriateness of an approved development at 27 East 4th Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension. The planned eight-story building adjoins the Merchant’s House, an 1832 dwelling and individual and interior landmark currently open to the public as a museum. The proposed building is intended for commercial use.

Testimony at the initial September 11, 2012 hearing focused on the potential adverse impact of the development, which included potential damage to the historic interior plasterwork and the overwhelming the scale of the Merchant House.  Throughout the approval process, Commissioners were both concerned about the project’s impact on the Merchant’s House, and the proposed building’s suitability for the street and the historic district. (read more…)

Rendering of proposed building at 192 Seventh Avenue South in the Greenwich Village Historic District. Image Credit: SRAA + E Architecture and Engineering, PC

No opposition voiced against demolition of one-story 20th-century building on site. On April 1, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to develop a triangular lot at 192 Seventh Avenue South in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The site, which faces 11th Street to the north, was created by the extension of Seventh Avenue, and is currently occupied by a one-story building constructed in the 1920s, and heavily altered in the 1940s. (read more…)

Rendering of proposed building at 27 East 4th Street. Image Courtesy: SRA Architecture and Engineering.

Applicants take measures to ensure construction does not harm adjacent Merchant’s House. At a public meeting on February 11, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewed a revised proposal for a new building at 27 East 4th Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension.  The applicants returned with a revised plan following Commissioners’ comments at a public hearing on March 12, 2013 (Read Cityland past coverage here).  (read more…)

Rendering of proposed building at 27 East 4th Street. Image Credit: SRA Architecture and Engineering.

Applicants responded to public testimony, which focused on potential damage to the adjoining landmarks, by detailing the excavation, construction and monitoring plans for the new building. On March 12, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission continued a hearing on a proposed new building at 27 East 4th Street, in the NoHo Historic District Extension. The proposed building is adjacent to the Merchant’s House, an individual exterior and interior landmark and museum at 29 East 4th Street.

At the first hearing on September 11, 2012, elected officials, representatives of the museum, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, which owns the property, Manhattan Community Board 2, and members of the public, all expressed strong concern about the potential negative impact of the project on the Merchant’s House. (See CityLand’s past coverage here). The hearing was cut short due to the quantity of public testimony and without an opportunity for the applicants to respond to the criticism or for Commissioners to comment on the application.

(read more…)

Credit: SRA Architecture + Engineering

Opposition feared construction would adversely impact individually landmarked building. On September 11, 2012, Landmarks held a hearing on Gary Spindler’s plan to demolish a one-story garage and develop a new nine-story building at 27 East 4th Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension. The property is located at the northern edge of the historic district and is adjacent to the individually landmarked Merchant’s House at 29 East 4th Street, which is not part of the historic district. The Merchant’s House was designated as a landmark in 1965 (a portion of its interior was designated in 1981), and the building currently functions as the Merchant’s House Museum.

Adrian Figueroa and Edward Carroll of SRA Architecture and Engineering presented Spindler’s proposal. According to Carroll, the nine-story building would not be out of context with the block’s “eclectic environment,” and would match the height of the neighboring building to the west at 25 East 4th Street. The building would feature a tripartite glass and steel facade framed by limestone with red masonry on the visible eastern sidewall. Structural engineer Phil Murray, also representing Spindler, testified that they would brace the Merchant’s House’s western wall and excavate the lot in segments, using seismographs to monitor any potential impacts.

(read more…)