A Renaissance Revival, Revivified

Tribeca Warehouse is Poised for New Life as Apartments

A relic of Tribeca’s industrial past is slated for conversion into luxury condominiums. The handsome, six-story, Renaissance Revival-style building at 143 Franklin Street was purchased by developers CNY (whose history in Lower Manhattan includes the partial conversion of the Woolworth Building into residential use) in January 2025 for $35.6 million.

The 30,000-square foot, brick structure was previously owned by Krinos Foods, an importer of Mediterranean delicacies, which had used the building for storage and shipping, starting in the late 1950s. (More recently, the firm had relocated to the Bronx amd rented space at 143 Franklin to fashionable retailers, such as Urban Archeology.) Built in the 1890s, the structure was designed by architect Henry Anderson, better remembered as the creator of Upper East Side mansions from the same era.

According to the Historic Districts Council, the building was intended for heavy industrial use, such as printing and metalworks firms. The Council also notes that Krinos sought permission from the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2016 to add a seventh-floor penthouse to the building. (The structure is not an individual landmark, but falls within the legally protected Tribeca West Historic District, which triggers regulatory oversight before major changes can be implemented.)

The 2016 plan for a penthouse at 143 Franklin was never implemented, but the new owners are seeking permission for a similar plan, which required review by the Landmarks Preservation Committee of Community Board 1.

On January 8, committee chair Jason Friedman focused on the primary visual difference that will be implemented to the facade of 143 Franklin: the removal of a fire escape. After questioning the architects about whether this was installed at the time the building was erected, he noted such a feature would have been unusual in the 1890s, and therefore was likely not part of the original design. Removing the fire escape (which is made legally permissible by subsequent safety features, such as interior fire stairs) will restore to public view decorative ironwork that was part of the original design.

Committee co-chair Vicky Cameron questioned whether the proposed penthouse addition on the roof of 143 Franklin would be visible from the street. The architectural team from studioMDA offered sightline renderings to demonstrate that it would be effectively invisible to the public. Ms. Cameron added, “what’s very nice is that you have not added a glass cage crawling on the side. It’s a beautiful building, and you are adding to it, and maintaining it, and refreshing it.”

After this discussion, CB1’s Landmarks Preservation Committee voted to recommend that the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (the agency with final say over such proposals) approve the changes sought by the new owners.