LPC OKs 3-story addition to 827-831 Broadway

[Courtesy of DXA studio]

In their third appearance before the Landmarks Preservation Committee (LPC), the owners of 827-831 Broadway received the OK yesterday for a glass addition atop the twin cast-iron buildings here between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Last November, the LPC voted to landmark the circa-1866 buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation campaigned for more than 18 months to help spare these buildings from demolition.

The LPC then rejected plans for a rooftop addition designed by DXA studio in January (too overwhelming) and April.

Here's some of Curbed's coverage from yesterday:

The third try finally seemed to pay off for the architecture firm with the Commission unanimously praising the efforts of the architects. The glass addition has now been reduced to three stories and has a 36-foot setback from the street level, making it a lot less visible from the street level than in previous iterations.

“It’s a marvel to take all that information and create something that is sensitive and elegant,” said Meenakshi Srinivasan, the chair of the Landmarks Commission, shortly before the Commission voted to approve the structure.

The LPC didn't have much to say about a seven-floor addition on an adjacent property at 47 E. 12th St. that's also part of the overall development. That addition will proceed for use as office space.

Reps for DXA studio issued a news release with more details on the project...

The 3 story addition will be composed of slumped, reflective glazing that’s curved form references the organic and spontaneous qualities of the art work of de Kooning and his contemporaries. “We felt the reflective nature of the glass could serve to capture the kinetic quality of the surroundings, broadcasting back color, textures, and movement, helping us see the world around us in a different way,” said Partner Jordan Rogove. “The reflection also turns the lens back on New York City, a place forever changed by the immense contributions of the New York School painters making it the capital of the art world for the first time.”

The original 4 story Italianate warehouse building that the addition sits atop will be fully restored. A new historical wood storefront will be installed at 831, and 827’s existing wood storefront will be restored. The addition’s slumped glazing is arranged in the same rhythm as the original building, balancing two sympathetic facades built of the material and technologies of their respective times.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel in 2015 for $60 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway

[Updated] Proposed addition for 827-831 Broadway is back in front of the LPC today

A revised proposal to add a (slightly smaller) four-story glass addition to the landmarked buildings at 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street returns to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) this morning.

Back in January, LPC commissioners told the design team to return with a revised proposal, as Curbed reported. (Find a PDF of the new proposal here.)

Last November, the LPC voted to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked. That decision spared the address from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel in 2015 for $60 million.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) campaigned for more than 18 months to help preserve these buildings. Read more about their efforts here.

Updated 2 p.m.

The LPC rejected the plans, per the GVSHP...

Great news! @nyclandmarks again rejects plan for out of context glass topper for 827-831 Broadway, 1866 former de Kooning studios we fought to get landmarked and save from wrecking ball!@CarlinaRivera @DeborahJGlick @bradhoylman @LizKrueger pic.twitter.com/JnYEV78kUc

— GVSHP (@GVSHP) April 24, 2018

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway

Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway

[DXA Studio]

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) nixed the reflective, four-story addition proposed for 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Curbed has coverage here. A few excerpts:

The Commission’s verdict followed hours of public testimony, where most people spoke in opposition to the project describing it as “overwhelming,” “grotesque,” and “atrocious,” among other descriptors.

But not everyone hated the proposal.

There were many who came out in support of the four-story rooftop addition too, most notably a number of art gallery owners, who praised the design and the aesthetic.

“This is a great homage to the existing building,” said Arnie Zimmerman, an art gallery owner.

“This impresses me in that the scale is exciting,” said Sally Wasserman, who lives in a building that neighbors the project.

Commissioner Michael Devonshire reportedly praised architect Jordan Rogove, though thought that this particular addition "may have been more appropriate as a de Kooning museum out in a field in East Hampton."

The LPC ultimately told the design team to return with a revised proposal, as Curbed reported.

This past November, the LPC voted to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked.

That decision spared the address from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel in 2015 for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights, which would be put to use for a 14-floor office building.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) had campaigned for more than 18 months to help preserve these buildings.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

[EVG photo from August]

Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved a proposal to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings at 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street.

This decision spared the buildings from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights, which would be put to use for a 14-floor office building.

Back to the developer's plans in a minute.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) campaigned the past 18 months to help preserve these buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked.

Per Curbed:

The [LPC] vote represents an unusual kind of designation for the commission that takes into special account the cultural history of the site. (Similar designations include the Stonewall Inn and Tammany Hall.) "The building itself, regardless of the destination, is worthy of designation," said Commissioner Frederick Bland. "What happened in it, regardless of the building, is worthy of designation."

According to the GVSHP, the developers said that if the buildings were landmarked, they would return with a claim of "hardship" to get out of landmarking or a proposal for an addition.

On Monday night, Community Board 2's Landmarks Committee will hear the developer's new proposal (find it here) "to construct a multiple story setback addition on the roof."

And the rendering:



The addition, at first glance, looks as if it blew in from the set of "Geostorm." However, the reflective façade is meant to represent Willem de Kooning's rural and pastoral landscape phase as well as his urban landscapes.

In an email, the GVSHP stated: "[T]his proposed 4-story addition is overwhelming in comparison to the building, and would nearly double its height."

The CB2 meeting is Monday at 6:30 p.m., NYU Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place, Room 207. The meeting is open to the public, who can ask questions and provide feedback on the proposal. CB2 will issue an advisory opinion and then the proposal will be scheduled for a hearing and vote with the LPC at a later date. Find more info here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

Broadway buildings draw support for landmark designation

The proposal to landmark 827-831 Broadway received unanimous support during a public hearing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) back on Tuesday.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

So those plans for a 14-floor office building on this property may be permanently on hold.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) has campaigned the past 18-plus months to preserve these buidlings.

Here's part of a report they sent out yesterday:

GVSHP was joined by Councilmember Rosie Mendez, neighbors, and scores of supporters on for the public hearing on our proposal to landmark 827-831 Broadway. The 1866 lofts, formerly home to Willem de Kooning and other art world luminaries, had faced the wrecking ball. Read GVSHP’s testimony here.

Members of the LPC, who will decide the building’s fate, also expressed strong support for designation, and stated that a vote would take place on Oct. 31 (time TBD). Once the LPC votes to designate, the building is landmarked and protected, though temporary protections are in place now.

An attorney for the developer ... stated that the owner opposed landmark designation, and asserted that he would have a hardship case if the building were designated and he were not allowed to develop the site (the law enables owners of private property to be relieved of landmarks requirements if they can demonstrate, through a public hearing process, that they cannot make a “reasonable return” on the property while abiding by landmarks requirements).

The owner’s lawyer also said that, if the building is landmarked, they would seek approval from the LPC to build some sort of addition to the building in order to make a reasonable return (this too would require a public hearing and review process).

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman co-authored an op-ed at the Times in early August, providing more history of the addresses and making the case for why they should be landmarked.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

City moves to potentially landmark 827-831 Broadway

City moves to potentially landmark 827-831 Broadway

[EVG photo from August]

Plans to demolish 827-831 Broadway for a 14-floor office building are on hold for now as the City has decided to begin the formal process of considering them for landmark designation.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission moved yesterday to calendar the pair of cast-iron buildings built in 1866 here between 12th Street and 13th Street. "That means the commission will ultimately hold a public hearing on the buildings’ designation and subsequently vote on it (one way or the other) within one year from now," as Curbed reported.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

In the late 1950s, Willem de Kooning had a studio in No. 827, one piece of the history of these buildings uncovered by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), who has campaigned the past 18 months to preserve these buidlings.

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman co-authored an op-ed at the Times in early August, providing more history of the addresses and making the case for why they should be landmarked.

The buildings were designed by Griffith Thomas, called “the most fashionable architect of his generation” by the American Institute of Architects.

You can read more about the buildings and the next steps in the landmarking process at the GVSHP website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

Three buildings at 827-831 Broadway (pictured above) and 47 E. 12th St. may be demolished to make way for a 14-floor office building.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

In the late 1950s, Willem de Kooning had a studio in No. 827, one piece of the history of these buildings uncovered by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP).

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman co-authored an op-ed at the Times this past week, providing more history of the addresses and making the case for why they should be landmarked:

Despite protests by preservationists, elected officials and neighbors, two developers, Quality Capital and the Caerus Group, intend to demolish it and build a 14-story tower. (Caerus is the Greek god of opportunity and luck who seizes favorable moments.)

In August 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected an application to protect 831 Broadway and its next-door twin, 827. According to its director of research at the time, the commission decided that New York already had enough buildings with “earlier cast-iron facades” and that “there are buildings on Broadway of a similar date, type and style” to represent this era of development in New York.

Fortunately, the commission has recently agreed to reconsider that decision, and the developers have agreed to withdraw their application for a demolition permit pending the reconsideration. Now the commissioners must decide whether to take the first formal step toward considering the buildings for landmark status and vote to “calendar” them — put them on the docket for active consideration for designation — which would be followed by a public hearing and a vote.

You can read more about these buildings at the GVSHP website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

This past Friday, reps for Caerus Group and Quality Capital filed plans for a 14-story, 70,000-square-foot retail-and-office building at 827 Broadway, as The Real Deal reported.

Per the article:

Retail will span the first three floors of the building, with the remaining 11 floors devoted to office space. The plans call for terraces on the fourth floor and roof — an amenity many landlords in the Midtown South market consider a necessity in order to attract tenants.

According to DOB records, there were plans filed in December for a "10-story vertical enlargement ... to existing 4-story building." Now there are just plans for a new building.

So apparently this means the two existing four-story buildings between 12th Street and 13th Street will be demolished. There aren't any demo permits on file yet.

Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought 827-829 and 831 Broadway last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

Antiques mogul Howard Kaplan previously owned the buildings for 35 years.

Here's some history of the buildings:

Italiante commercial building built by tobacconist Pierre Lorillard III (1796-1867) on property owned by the family until 1940. Lorillard was grandson of Pierre Abraham Lorillard (1742–1776), founder of the American tobacco industry with 1760 launch of P. Lorillard & Co. In 1867, No. 827 was shop of cabinetmaker Alexander Roux (1813-1886). From 1980s until 2008 was a club, La Belle Epoque.