Landmarks OKs 27 Cranberry Townhouse

Yesterday the LPC approved developer Louis Greco’s plans to construct a new, single-family house on the empty lot on 27 Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights. Architect Tom van den Bout sent in the visual of the tweaked design, above, along with a detailed description of how it differs from an older iteration that the LPC wasn’t keen on and some community members opposed. In short, he writes that the 5,000-square-foot house is “massed to appear smaller from both the street and the rear gardens” and “rendered in humbler material in a less formal composition.” There are a bunch of specific changes—including the use of roman brick rather than brownstone and zinc replacing bronze for the metal cornice and bay—that helped it pass muster with Landmarks this time around; click through for all of them.
LPC Recap: Nay on 27 Cranberry [Brownstoner]
LPC Considering New Heights Build Tomorrow [Brownstoner] GMAP

The other changes:
– base of house is brownstone plaster
– window sizes reduced to relate more closely to neighbors
– top floor set back from front, back and sides – sloped (clad in zinc) – only minimally visible from Willow
– rear wall chamfered to open neighboring garden view and air by removal of 4′ depth
– cornice height of house dropped to match 31 cranberry
– bay size reduced in plan but two story
– bay with zinc frame and wood window infill
– side wall has blind windows matching front fenestration to reduce scale
– front window enframement of cove brick on sides with brownstone lintel and sills
– rear wall height reduced by one story
– stoop height dropped
– all floors dropped to reduce overall height
– rear wall clad in light warm grey concrete rain screen panels