Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Here's what Peter Brant wants to do with his new exhibition space on East 6th Street



We finally have an idea of what art collector Peter Brant plans on doing with the renovations of 421 E. Sixth St., the former home-studio of artist Walter De Maria here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Tonight at 6:30, CB3's Landmarks Committee will discuss a Certificate of Appropriateness application for the building that Brant bought last year for $27 million. (The address falls in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District.) Brant told the Times last October that he plans on opening an exhibition space here.



Among other things, the proposal calls for:

Exterior work includes the restoration and repair of the existing brick facade, replacement of the existing windows with new thermally broken steel windows to match existing, new window openings on the west and north facades, a new occupiable roof terrace with a new glass skylight. there is an increase in height of the bulkhead to accomodate the elevator and the addition of a roof mounted hvac unit which will be screened from view on all four sides.

Here's a side-by-side look… showing the existing building (left) and the proposed front...





Some of the most noticeable changes would occur on the lot's East Seventh Street side … where there is currently a wall/rolldown gate leading to the back of the property…



… that would be converted into a garden space… (no word if this space would be open to the public, or just guests of the Brant Foundation).



In addition, Brant's reps are calling for a rooftop terrace and a garden to the west of the building, currently an empty lot that was also part of the sale…



You can find a PDF with all the proposals (diagrams! renderings! photos!) right here.

If you want to see if all for yourself, the 6:30 meeting tonight is at the JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery.

The building was a Con Ed substation built in 1920. De Maria, who died in July 2013 at age 77, bought it in 1980 to use as a home and studio.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street

RIP Walter De Maria

What is your East Village dream home?

Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect

Walter De Maria's home/studio on East 6th Street is now on the market for $25 million

Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)

Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio

1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

A soft opening at the Brant Foundation's new space at Walter De Maria's former East 6th Street studio

More about the 1st show at Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

all things considered, this looks like one of the better outcomes for this space. could have been torn down or converted into luxury condos.

creature said...

As a 6th Street resident, I approve. So glad they are not going squeeze a building into the empty lot.

NOTORIOUS said...

An exhibition space is perfect. I've always loved this building.

nygrump said...

I could care less. As a non 1%er, nothing that will take place in there can in any way help me.

blue glass said...

wait till those art parties start in the garden and on the roof.
just what a gallery needs.
will there be a liquor license and a happy hour?

uncle Pete said...

"art parties"?? hahaha.. we live in a day and age where folks worry about "art parties" negatively affecting their quality of life.

Fuzzball said...

This looks lovely. And I LOVE that there's something called a "Certificate of Appropriateness." Is there some sort of associated ticket or summons one can give out to passersby in violation of appropriateness? "You need to re-think that outfit, young man." "I am offended by your puking in broad daylight while dressed as a leprechaun."

Anonymous said...

i'm impressed by these renderings. There is nothing "them-ie" or tourists magnet about this building. I know having a museum like exhibition space here will encourage more 1% intrusion into the EV but the alternatives as others have stated here already (demolition, condo conversion or worse a bait and switch dorm could be a lot worst. If this building had sold to a carpet bagger developer they would have taken full advantage of the empty lots air rights and build a big ass glass and steel tower so which would you prefer?

Anonymous said...

No condos?

sam_the_man said...

Man, WDM had it goin' on. How many properties in Manhattan have their own driveway that starts on another block?

DrBOP said...

C'mon Peter......where's the 4-story Art Slide?

.....just picture the fun the swells will have :
.....jumpin' on the flexible, glowing neon slide-pad at the top.....
.....WHIZZZZIN' past the installations
.....WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
.....goin' faster and FASTer and FASTER!!!
.....SPRITZing through the Crystal Head Vodka & Waterfall
.....then BOOMMMMM splashalacka into the hot tub/pool at the bottom.....
Providing all your patrons an opportunity for a happy ending.

C'monnn mannnn......

......you KNOWWWW you want it!

Giovanni said...

Now if they would only let Mitali take the ground floor this would be perfect.

Anonymous said...

It's time to start putting local residents and local businesses ahead of pretty buildings. This space will attract tourists and the moneyed elite, who are the exact folks we don't want coming to the neighborhood and "discovering" how lovely it is. This is how we got Schwimmer - his wife came to the neighborhood and decided it was lovely and she wanted to live here. Landlords are forcing out residents and local businesses with the same tactics. Tourists and the moneyed crowd will want what they want and not what those of us who live here need. Which means trendy upscale dining and drinking and then upscale boutiques. It's things like this that push us further to being Nolita. I will take the bourbon street environment we deal with now over the rich, the beautiful and the trendy any day. Don't fool yourselves into thinking this will be good for us in anyway except that we get to look at a nice building from the outside.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:15 - Heaven knows we wouldn't want tourists coming to our neighborhood to look at our galleries and spend money and locally owned businesses. Man oh man - that would be the worst!

Maybe we, the poor, unwashed working class, should erect a huge barricade around the East Village. We could hang signs up that say "No More Scwimmers!" or "If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now. But You Don't So Don't Even Think About It." We could even write them in French to give them that whole laissez-faire feeling...

L.O. Ratliff said...

Anon—are you for real? One can appreciate art without being a "moneyed elite". I welcome the space and its garden.

And yes, tourists are welcome in my LES/EV. Not sure how tourism forces out local residents, but feel free to "hurguhrrhhrrh" about it.

(I also have the guts to sign my name to my comment, rather than anonymous complaining.)

Anonymous said...

I was once a tourist who came to the East Village to see bands and buy records and magazines and books and eat food and see what there was to see. Guess I'm part of the problem now that I live here...

Anonymous said...

This building was sold by a private person and will become an exhibition etc.. Something had to happen here it was not going to sit empty forever. This is not a squat, only a rich person or developer could afford it. The options are another wealthy family buys it and lives in it alone like the 6 story tenement on the Hell's Angels block, it gets converted to condo's and the facade is destroyed when a wall of glass takes its place, or it's demolished and another glass and steel tower is built. The wealthy are not the biggest threat to the EV it is the wealthy developers who are actually getting residents out of their long term homes, many time using illegal tactics. Tourists come to gawk and will eat lunch or dinner and maybe buy a trinket, most tourists do not spend much money. NYU is providing an ever growing student base many of which want to live in a "hip" place close to school, this is the fate of the EV unfortunately. For the first time in this neighborhoods history non-immigrants will make up the majority of newcomers. Any business hoping to survive and pay the outlandish rents will need to cater to this population so as the old timers are forced out rent hikes or death the stuff we enjoy is destined to dissppaer sooner rather than later. Grieve.

Anonymous said...

anyone who thinks moneyed art lovers are worse for our neighborhood than a bunch of drunken fratty vomitty yahoos is perfectly insane, TYVM

Anonymous said...

We could hang signs up that say "No More Scwimmers!

Nah, how 'bout "Die Yuppie Scum"?

Anonymous said...

Condos < NYU frat boys < Tourists < Rich art enthusiasts

This is a pretty good thing, guys.

Anonymous said...

I'm new to the blog but not the neighborhood. Can someone explain why having diversity in the hood is a bad thing? I'm, by no means, a Schwimmer fan but who cares if he's my neighbor... We're not a superior species just because we've been here longer.

Anonymous said...

This art exhibit will probably be a tax write off scam, which allows Brant to donate his artwork (for a nice tax write off), and has very limited, not-publicized hours for the "public" in order to comply with most minimal of IRS requirements.

Or it could be a really cool public art exhibit.

I wouldn't hold my breath, and while the second possibility is superior to the first, it's not like I was welcome into De Maria's living room all these years.