big fan of them keeping the houses as part of the design
I believe they are landmarks so they don’t have a choice in it. Lol
Very Toronto-like
I guess it’s the only way to make them profitable…
It may be a bit gimmicky but I think this kind of facade preservation should happen all over NYC.
Win win of keeping street level character(ish) and adding housing.
Developer of 30-story Downtown Brooklyn tower seeks to combine 4 nearby historic buildings
Williamsburg-based real estate firm Watermark Capital is proposing to fuse together a quartet of 3-story buildings, all designated as individual landmarks, between 182 and 188 Duffield St. and then erect the 345-foot tower behind them, according to a notice that appeared in the city record Monday.
It’s unclear what will become of the four properties, including whether they will be restored for residential or commercial use or whether they will be connected to the tower slated to rise behind them on the roughly 10,000-square-foot lot between Metrotech roadway and Willoughby Street.
Joel Werczberger, a representative for Watermark, last week submitted revised permits for the tower, which would include 99 dwelling units — a portion of which would be set aside as affordable. It would span a total of about 137,000 square feet, including 3,658 square feet of community facility space and about 550 square feet of commercial space, records show.
A hearing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission is scheduled for Oct. 21.
In a surprise change of course, the Landmarks Preservation Commission looks set to approve a new tower behind the row of four 19th-century landmarked houses on Downtown Brooklyn’s Duffield Street after developers pulled plans to gut the historic structures. However, the commissioners say the design team still has work to do.
The revised plans site the tower behind the historic houses, 48 feet from the street line, instead of cantilevering above them. There will also be a recess at the base of the tower that creates five feet of space between 184 and 186 Duffield Street and the lobby and allows for the installation of a fire-rated wall (a legal requirement).
Overall, there was consensus amongst the commissioners that the tower could fit on the site given the setback and new massing. However, the majority of the commissioners agreed the facade needed more work and some thought the height also needed further analysis.