Historic District
May 5, 2008
Developer to Air Out 345 Adams Street
There are portions of 345 Adams Street, a city-owned building mainly occupied by the Department of Finance, that sunlight has never touched. Other parts, as in the last eight feet of the building's magnificent 16-foot ceilings, were blocked after the hideous but energy-efficient drop ceiling trend hit the nation by storm. But that will change now that Muss Development owns "the disgustingly ugly, city-owned office's" first two floors, 35,000 square feet, which the adjacent Marriott and Morton’s Steakhouse landlord intends to make beautiful and rent as retail space. Greenstone Realty CEO Robert Greenstone said Muss would remove the mezzanine and carve windows into the first two floors extending from Morton's to Willoughby Street. A third floor of "knock out windows" would be added in case the city wants to use them and sidewalk lights would illuminate the building at night. "We were going to put sconces on the walls but it looked too ordinary," said Greenstone, who is marketing the space. He provided us with renderings of the $18 million renovation that he said would be split between two high-end retailers. Of course Apple was brought up, but this time it's totally serious. (Did anybody really think the ultra-sleek iGadget manufacturer would move into the landmarked One Hanson Place, which though magnificent inside, is as far from the Apple aesthetic as possible before teetering into the viking look?) "They love iconic corners," Greenstone said of Apple, which he's worked extensively with in the company's effort to find their first Brooklyn throne. He said "One Hanson Place looks iconic but it's not iconic," mainly referring to what's outside (this is where architecture becomes important ). But 345 Adams Street is across from Borough Hall, Cadman Plaza and Brooklyn Heights, making it a top contender for "that iconic corner," said Greenstone. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, see jump for pictures of what's outside those future windows, taken from 16 Court Street ...
April 30, 2008
Development Watch: Love Lane Mews with Skylight Views
Construction seems to be moving forward at Love Lane Mews, five former parking garages that are being converted into 38 apartments and two townhouses in the Brooklyn Heights historic district. This building, the only one on the east side of the street, would be two townhouses (with skylights?), according to an older Brooklyn Eagle article. And we just like the hand-painted sign at the construction site to the right. As one of the few new construction projects (aside from the outer shell) in this quiet, landmarked neighborhood, which do you think will come easier: sales, or finding a parking space in the Heights on weekdays?
Love Lane Mews Floorplans Revealed [Brownstoner]
Parking Crunch Worsens as Garage Closes [Brooklyn Eagle]
Heights Conversion to be Called Love Lane Mews [Brooklyn Eagle]
April 22, 2008
110 Amity: Mews Out, Bigger Townhouses (Probably) In
We did a double take when we saw 110 Amity Street, under its Henry Street address, listed at an undisclosed price on Massey Knakal's website. The Landmarks Preservation Commission earlier this year rebuffed Lucky Boy Development and Time Equities' proposal for the property, which most controversially created a gated walkway fronting a row of townhouses behind the Lamm Institute, formerly a nurses' quarters. Locals, politicians and preservation groups lined up at the hearing to oppose the plan, saying it was too different from the surrounding Cobble Hill historic district. “The local community is vehemently opposed to this development that changes the block structure around to create a gated community, shoe-horned into the block only to maximize profit," said an email from a resident opposed to the project.
Lucky Boy principal Jonathan Wachtel said the Massey Knakal listing is old, from when the property was first purchased last year for $6.125 million. "Technically it may still be for sale. We're not in negotiations with anybody, and at this point our intention is to build the project ourselves...But of course, at the right price anything is for sale." He said they'll return to Landmarks within the next few months with some major adjustments. The eight condos inside the early 1900s building will likely remain in the plan, as well as the expanded rooftop bulkhead to accomodate penthouses. But the mews will mostly likely be replaced by much larger, street-facing townhouses with backyards and gardens. "I still think it was a very interesting, very good design, but the community spoke and landmarks listened, so we've moved on. Most likely, it would be a more traditional townhouse configuration." Because the townhouses would be bigger than the mews houses, they would cost more. A new firm, BKSK Architects, would design the townhouses, said Wachtel. RKT&B would still do the Lamm conversion from medical offices to residential.
110 Amity Proposal Takes a Drubbing at LPC Hearing [Brownstoner]
Opposition to 110 Amity Plans Grows [Brownstoner]
Yowza! The Lamm Institute's For Sale [Brownstoner]
April 16, 2008
Guard Starts Talks 'To Come Up With Alternatives' For Row
The Army National Guard held its first consulting meeting yesterday on the transfer of the Admiral's Row houses to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. National Guard spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt said more than 30 groups were represented. "We have groups that want to save the buildings and we have groups that want to demolish the buildings and build a supermarket," he said. Four or five meetings are expected to follow "to really come up with a list of alternatives ... like things that can be done with the property." He declined to elaborate on each group's stance, but said, unsurprisingly, "I did hear in the meeting from a lot of city [officials] that, 'If we're required to restore and fix up these buildings, the city isn't prepared to put any money behind doing that, nor is the State of New York ... so please look at funding it through private sources." The city expected to obtain the properties under a previous agreement that allowed them to tear the homes down. A parking lot and light industrial space is also planned.
But alas, it looks like the National Guard's sentiments have a decent chance of changing since that 1996 agreement. They released a report last year estimating the 10 quarters, some more dilapidated than others, could be restored for (an amended) $19.6 million or rebuilt for $24.9 million, acknowledging those estimates still assumed the buildings would be reused as homes, and excluded the cost of abatement and conversion to commercial use. The long report—now available on the National Guard's new Admiral's Row website—determined the quarters retained enough structural integrity to make them eligible for the state and national registers of historic places. The state's preservation specialist issued a letter of concurrence; that the old agreement fails to address the new findings, basically rendering it moot. "We hope that appropriate alternatives will be considered including adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of the historic building and the site (including walls, fences and landscape features). We are not opposed to the redevelopment of the site," it read, "but it is critical that the alternatives analysis seriously consider how these nationally significant buildings can be creatively incorporated into the overall plan." Conveniently, nearby Pratt architecture students came up with just that. Some have suggested Fairway Market in Red Hook, which occupies the ground floor of a large old industrial building, is proof that these homes could also be refashioned into a market. Navy Yard Development Corporation president Andrew Kimball has said he'd like to bring something like Fairway to this supermarket-starved end of town—in the ground floor of a new industrial building—but he's not willing to budget stringing together a bunch of loose, dilapidated houses. As a side note, the quaint six-acre property also has tennis courts and a tennis house with rules still posted, a park, and a timber shed.
As the cliche goes, beauty (and worth) is in the eye of the beholder. So, here's one particularly amazing photo set to judge for yourself.
Admiral's Row website [National Guard]
Pratt Professors Seek To Reconcile Competing Plans for Admiral's Row [Brooklyn Eagle]
Officers’ Row Supermarket Not Happening Anytime Soon [Brownstoner]
Admiral's Row fixup to cost $20M [Daily News]
Photo by incandenza.
April 15, 2008
ProHi Historic District Could Include Almost 800 Homes
Yesterday Atlantic Yards Report had a detailed post on the proposed Prospect Heights Historic District, which was the subject of a neighborhood meeting that representatives from the Landmarks Preservation Commission attended last week. According to the representatives, historic district designation could take up to two years. “This is a neighborhood long of interest to the commission,” said Kate Daly, the LPC’s executive director, at the meeting. The boundaries of the proposed district (which are not yet set in stone) are shown above in a map the LPC sent us. It runs as far north as Pacific and Carlton, with a large section bordering Flatbush Ave and running approximately all the way down to Grand Army Plaza and almost as far east in one section as Washington Avenue. "So far the district would include approximately 776 buildings, and the next step is to get feedback from homeowners about the meeting we attended last week," says LPC spokesperson Elisabeth de Bourbon. After that, the Commission will hold a public hearing on the designation that should happen before the end of the year.
The Prospect Heights Historic District Nudges Forward [AY Report]
February 29, 2008
Gowanus as a National Historic Landmark?
Grand Central Terminal. The Brooklyn Bridge. The Woolworth Building. The Gowanus Canal. Which of these does not belong? Yep, that's right, it's the Brooklyn Bridge. No, just kidding, it's actually the Gowanus Canal, the only one that hasn't been named a National Historic Landmark...yet. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy is currently spearheading a drive to get the canal named a national historic landmark district, a designation that could be a "useful tool" in terms of getting funding for the canal's cleanup, according to Bob Zuckerman, the GCC's executive director. "Right smack in the middle of brownstone Brooklyn, the canal has a history all its own," says Zuckerman, noting that the transformation of the Gowanus from a series of creeks to its role in aiding industry make the waterway historically significant. Zuckerman says there's precedent for a canal being designated a national historic landmark district: The Erie and Ohio Canal is one, for example. The proposed district will include the canal, the Gowanus pumping station and flushing tunnel, the Carroll Street Bridge (which is already a city landmark), as well as five buildings along the Gowanus. A Pratt student and former GCC intern is now preparing a report about the hoped-for landmark status, and Zuckerman says the conservancy will begin making moves to get the district recognized in the coming months.
January 24, 2008
Closing Bell: Raising the Roof on 2nd Street
Tonight Community Board 6’s landmarks/land-use committee will consider a Certificate of Appropriateness application submitted to the LPC that involves building a new mezzanine addition on the rooftop of one of the houses on 2nd Street between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West (in addition to some changes to the rear of the house). As the photo above shows, most of the historic district block has an uninterrupted roofline. so if this is to have any chance of approval it'll have to be set back from the sight line. GMAP
January 7, 2008
Cobble Hill Association: 110 Amity Plan ‘Unacceptable’
Time Equities’ proposal to build six new townhouses on the vacant land surrounding the landmark Lamm Institute building at 110 Amity Street is being opposed by an influential civic group. Last week the Cobble Hill Association voted to fight the developer’s plans because the new townhouses wouldn’t have the 35- to 50-foot rear yards usually found behind the historic district’s 19th century townhouses, an absence that the group feels will negatively affect other houses on the block. The design would cause “an unacceptable incursion” into the light and air that surrounding properties receive, according to a statement released by the association. The group also argued that the creation of a mews would be “inconsistent with the character of the Cobble Hill Historic District” since the houses wouldn’t front the street. The CHA says it would be preferable for Time Equities to build one new building fronting Amity Street and one or two buildings fronting Henry Street, all of which would ideally align with neighboring brownstones and allow space for the rear yards typical of the neighborhood. The Cobble Hill Association’s verdict on the 100 Amity design will likely influence whether Community Board 6 decides to support the proposal, which is being considered by the LPC at a public hearing tomorrow.
Opposition to 110 Amity Plans Grows [Brownstoner] GMAP
CB6 Tries to Avoid Amity Street Horror [Brownstoner]
Local Residents Oppose New Development at 110 Amity [Bergen Carroll]