254 Front Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 254 Front Street by Carter Horsley

This extremely attractive, 8-story residential building at 254 Front Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District was completed in 2012 just to the south of the Brooklyn Bridge.

It has 41 rental apartments and was designed by Morris Adjmi.

It replaced a one-story building that for a long time housed Jeremy’s Ale House, a popular bar and restaurant, and a vacant lot.

The original developer was Barry Akrongold of First Realty Corporation and Akrongold Brothers. The site, which was originally planned as a 20-unit condominium, was taken over in 2009 by Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate Group, which sold it in 2013 to Weber Management for $25 million.

Bottom Line

A fine new building in the South Street Historic District whose hanging shed canopy honors the adjacent Brooklyn Bridge and whose zinc panel façade on Front Street recalls the area’s industrial past.

Description

The building’s frontage on Front Street is 8 stories with a setback top floor that continues around to Dover Street where the developer acquired a second lot that is six-stories high and faced with light-red brick with dark grey protruding aluminum window frames.  The window openings are Front Street are a bit larger with protruding mahogany frames and the façade of corrugated zinc panels and a hanging shed canopy.

Amenities

The building has a 24-hour doorman, a fitness center, a laundry room and roof deck with fabulous vistas of the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn.

Apartments

Apartments have 5-inch-wide, oak, hardwood floors and kitchens have stainless steel appliances and Caesar Stone counters and bathrooms have Italian tile.

The penthouse is a four-bedroom unit with two of the bedrooms having balconies and a large wrap-around terrace around the office, the living room, and the dining room with an open kitchen with an island.

Apartment 7C is a three-bedroom unit with an entry foyer that leads to a large private terrae, two of the bedrooms and the long corner living/dining room with an open kitchen.

Apartment 2F is a two-bedroom unit has a large living/dining room with a very long private terrace and a long kitchen by its entrance.

Apartment 2D is a two-bedroom unit with a long living/dining room with an open kitchen.

A one-bedroom unit has a living/dining room with an open kitchen and a large private terrace.

Apartment 3A has a living area with an open kitchen and a balcony.

History

Until a rezoning in 2003, the building site could have been developed to a F.A.R. (floor-to-area-ratio) of 12 with transfer of air rights from within the district.  The rezoning lowered that maximum to 8 but the building uses no transferred air rights and has a F.A.R. of only 5.8.  The building’s design was revised to eliminate balconies on its Dover Street façade.

The Historic Districts Council testified that it supported the project’s application for a certificate of appropriateness, stating that it “found the massing to be appropriate, and appreciated that the building references the commercial character of the neighborhood in its materials and design.”  “Additionally,” it continued, “the proposed storefront design is reflective of the architectural language of this district and the signage, discreet.”