NoHo News

The future landscape on West Side of Lafayette St between Bond and Great Jones

18 Bleecker St. – The former Lady of Loretto Church which has for many years housed retired clergy and served as a center for various adult social services has been closed for nearly a year.  Over the last three months it has been undergoing asbestos removal and now a gut clearance.  Recently debris has been falling off the building on the Elizabeth St. side. DOB and ECB have issued violations.  According to the City Register, it still belongs to the Arch Diocese of New York.

8-10 Bond St. – 8-12 Development Partners LLC chose Annabelle Seldorf  as the architect for the newly designed building at the corner of Bond and Lafayette.  The six-story plus penthouse configuration, with two maisonettes on the ground-floor would feature Terra Cotta as the major design material.  Though rich and contrasted with the metal inset windows, LPC has asked that Ms. Seldorf return with more distinction in the facade.

Downtown Auto Center – at the corner of Great Jones and the Bowery has again closed.

45 Great Jones Proposed Application Rendering. Click here for larger image

45  Great Jones – the second of the Great Jones Lumber buildings will appear before CB#2′s Landmarks Committee on  the evening of 5/29, 6:30 PM– NYU 5 Washington Place bet. Mercer & Broadway, Room 101 .

The current structure is a three-story building that has undergone multiple facade and interior changes since its estimated origin in 1915 as a garage.

The proposed building, designed by Beyer, Blinder and Belle architect Richard Metsky, would have a maximum height at 97’ (not including mechanicals), an FAR of 5.0
with 8-stories.  The current of several versions shared with LPC staff shows a 30’ rear-yard set back from the property line at the top of the first floor and a front set-back(s) at the top of the 6th floor to provide a contextual street wall with the buildings on the east and west.

A lengthy review of the history, design choices and details as well as the massing was held on April 26th with the owners of buildings on Great Jones and Bond Sts. as well as other interested NoHo residents with the developer at Beyer Blinder and Belle.

Subsequent to presentation and any adaptations required by LPC, this development will also have to appear at the Board of Standards and Appeals for consideration of a use change from manufacturing to residential.  There will be NO food or beverage tenants in the proposed building.

37 Great Jones St. has recently been purchased for $8.5 million.  Continuously a manufacturing building since its erection in 1917, the building was condemned in 2006 and was the subject of a lengthy lawsuit between the owners and a commercial lessee .  It has recently undergone extensive hazardous material removal.

25 Great Jones St. – There have been no further updates on the newly proposed residential use or Landmarks Certificate of Appropriateness application, to date.

27 East 4th St. Bulk Distribution Rendering

27 East 4th St. – UPDATE:  The Landmarks Certificate of Appropriateness application will return to CB#2 Landmarks Committee for hearing on May 14th 6:30pm at Our Lady of Pompei Church, 25 Carmine Street, Father Demo Hall in order for the community to be heard on this application – the previous hearing on April 30th had less than four days notice.  This item is first on the agenda.  A new public hearing date at the LPC is still to be determined.

Among the concerns is protecting the stability of the Merchants House Museum which abuts this property immediately to the east.

27 East 4th St. Rendering

The building proposed, designed by SRA Architecture+ Engineering P.C. would have eight-stories at the height of the seven-story building to its west and a continuous street wall, and complies with the FAR 5 zoning envelope.  Above the level of the first floor, the building would have a rear yard of 68′  (with no additional structure upon it).   The current structure is considered non-contributing in the NoHo Historic District designation.

M1-5b zoning would require a set back at the top of the sixth story, which will be the subject of a BSA variance to be later submitted.  With a 15-20′ set-back, the design of the new building could be higher or extend further in the rear yard.

Testimony at the first CB#2 hearing indicated the intended use to be for office space, though it had once been planned for hotel use.  Both would be as-of-right in this zoning envelope.  The Landmarks Committee recommended a change in window configuration to four-across, allowing for more sightly division of internal spaces that would be less visible from the outside, but more importantly called out the need for maximum protection and oversight by LPC of the Merchants House Museum.

You may wish to consider signing a petition which asks that the application be denied in its entirety, for a variety of reasons that may or may not be considered by LPC.  You can do so here.

NoHo-Bowery Stakeholders, Inc will be submitting a recommendation that, in addition to full Landmarks Preservation Commission oversight on its issued protocol for protection of Landmarked buildings in development sites, the developer be required to post a bond to cover the cost of any repairs or preventive measures necessary for ensuring the complete structural and aesthetic integrity of the Merchants House Museum.

402 Lafayette/708 Broadway – A 10-story building (circa 1914) which now houses the Crunch Gym and 17 units for office space seems to be moving forward with a previous plan to operate as a hotel.  We have had several reports that a search is on for a Food & Beverage operator.