Twelve-story, 101,243 sq.ft. East 95th Street school required BSA approval. Trevor Day School, a private school with four Manhattan locations, applied to BSA for a special permit and variance to construct a 12-story combined middle and high school at 312 East 95th Street. The building design called for a four-story, 84-foot tall base with 10,300 sq.ft. floor plates. It would rise an additional eight stories, each with 6,200 sq.ft. floor plates, to a total height of 204 feet. Since the site’s C8-4 zoning prohibited the school use as-of-right, Trevor’s plan required a special permit. The 101,243 sq.ft. building design required a variance to exceed both the maximum floor area by 33,299 sq.ft., and the maximum tower lot coverage, and to provide an eight-inch rear yard as opposed to the 20-foot requirement.

At BSA, Trevor’s representative stated that it was unable to provide adequate classroom space in its current middle school and high school, citing a study that found Trevor’s average classroom area per student at 30 percent less than other independent middle and high schools in the City. (read more…)