[No. 180 from August 2017]
During the December holiday break, I noted that gut renovations were underway at 180 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.
According to the previously approved work permits on file with the city, workers are converting the building to residential use and adding two floors in the process. Permits show that there will be one residential unit on each floor.
A tipster shared the renderings for the building... via Ole Sondresen Architect...
And the description:
This East Village residential building is elegantly comprised of four 2 bedroom units and two 1 bedroom homes. Each unit features its own private terrace with open views down 2nd Avenue. The apartments are composed of two programmatic wooden boxes housing closets, bathrooms, and mechanicals which allows for an open loft-like feeling in the rest of the living space. The building is designed to earn LEED Platinum and Passive House certification, integrating a green roof with solar hot water panels for each residential unit. Reclaimed wood planters are incorporated into each terrace allowing lush plantings to liven the facade. The concrete structure is left with exposed joints and formwork markings, juxtaposing textured concrete surfaces against refined wood and glass. The building's order is achieved through the honesty of materials and the clarity of its design.
Meanwhile, a closer inspection of the rendering reveals a Citi Biker facing the wrong direction in the Second Avenue bike lane...
Celebrities-Who-Citi-Bike watchers will recognize that scalie...
Leo!
As for the ground-floor retail space, the Ninth Ward, the previous tenant, is expected to return.
The Chicago-based Polish National Alliance was the previous owner of No. 180. The building housed the Józef Pilsudski Institute of America, which is the largest Polish-American research institution specializing in the recent history of Poland and Central Eastern Europe. (They found a new home in Greenpoint.) An LLC bought the building for $6.75 million in June 2014, per public records.
Previously on EV Grieve:
2nd Avenue bar Ninth Ward is closing for good on Feb. 14; building rumored to be demolished
Residential conversion underway at 180 2nd Ave.; the Ninth Ward expected to return
That is so funny and pathetic.
ReplyDeleteCertainly an improvement visually, but, how did they get a permit to jut out into the street like that?
ReplyDeleteOut-of-context, idiotic and pretentious.
ReplyDeleteLeo has always gone against the grain and it's worked for him so far, so don't hate.
ReplyDeleteThere goes the neighborhood some more.
ReplyDeleteHow did this happen? The creation of the East Village Historic District years ago was supposed to prevent this type of change from happening. How does this facade blend into or complement the character of the EV as it was supposed to do? Shame on the City. Shame on the Community Board. Shame on everyone who enriched themselves on this project at the expense of aesthetics and respect for EV residents.
ReplyDelete"The building's order is achieved through the honesty of materials and the clarity of its design" - to say nothing of the turgidity of its press release. What a buncha claptrap hooey.
ReplyDelete9:19 morning: I've seen balconies of course, but never the entire facade extended onto the sidewalk. How DID they get to do that? Any architects out there?
ReplyDeleteCitibiking the wrong way on a southbound ave. Total bro move LEO.
ReplyDeleteRenderings are the fiction of architecture. The building can't extend beyond the current facade. But the real problem for the block is the noise from all the porches and the setback. PAR-TAY!
ReplyDeleteFor all the comments regarding the facade, the current building is recessed from the sidewalk above the first floor, i.e. Only the first floor is on the lot line. As far as the description, it sounds like total bs aimed to embellish the cheapest possible renovation to obtain the maximum profit,disguised as some sort of architectural masterpiece when all it is bare bones construction.
ReplyDeleteWhy yes, I'd love to have an open-air terrace directly above a bar and the avenue. Not!
ReplyDeleteI'm all for the solar energy.
ReplyDeleteHey, maybe they can have garage-door-type facades on the upper floors, like the one in that crazy building on 14th St. - then we can hear ALL the noise from ALL the apartments ALL at once!
ReplyDeleteI for one will be interested in buying one of these only as Leo has put his image to it. A
ReplyDeleteRespectable actor would only back an equally respectable project! Thanks Leo, for the assistance!