Landmarks Panel Approves Two Tribeca Building Plans—One That CB1 Endorsed and Another It Excoriated
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has agreed to abide by one recommendation from Community Board 1 (CB1) about a proposed development in Tribeca, and ignore another. The plans require LPC approval because both fall within legally protected Tribeca Historic Districts (although neither is designated as a landmark).
At its April 14 hearing, the LPC agreed with CB1 about a proposed, eight-story residential building at the corner of Church and Lispenard Streets, currently the site of an empty, one-floor structure that formerly housed a coffee shop and a barber (both of which closed several years ago). The design for the building features a metal-clad facade that is meant to evoke the cast-iron building fronts that are a beloved feature of historic structures in Tribeca and nearby Soho. In a resolution enacted in March, CB1 said “the overall façade structure and layout are historically appropriate and thoughtfully done.” While the LPC concurred, it also approved in 2019 a previous design for the same site (that was never built), featuring a limestone facade, that CB1 called “repetitive” and “inferior.”
In a second case, the LPC approved a proposed renovation and expansion planned for 385 Greenwich Street (at the corner of North Moore Street) that will add two stories to the historic, 1805 loft structure, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass panes and a facade framed in metal. Objecting to the size, the facade materials, and the extensive use of glass in the plan, CB1 enacted a resolution at its March meeting demanding, “all parts of this proposal be redesigned so that the building’s scale and architectural character are more compatible with the surrounding buildings within the Historic District.”
Because CB1’s resolutions are advisory rather than binding, the developer decided to make his case with the LPC at that panel’s March 24 hearing, where several Commission members asked for minor adjustments to the plan. These included setting back a rooftop handrail so that it wouldn’t be visible from the street, reducing the depth of the decorative cornice at the roofline, and widening the upper-floor window bays. Pending these revisions, the LPC deferred approving or vetoing the plan.
When the architectural team returned to the LPC on April 21 with a modified plan that incorporated the changes, commissioner Frank Mahan said, “I think that the series of nips and tucks that the applicant has made here significantly improve” the design.
LPC member Erasmus Ikpemgbe added, “I believe what’s been presented is a good extrapolation from [our] words. There was a series of minor alterations that overall make the project much more cohesive. I find it appropriate.” After this discussion, the LPC voted seven to zero to approve the plan for 385 Greenwich.