One of Williamsburg's most-historic landmarks, the former Williamsburg Savings Bank building at 175 Driggs Avenue on the northwest corner Broadway in Brooklyn near Peter Luger, the restaurant, is "on the market" and "could become fancy condos," according to an article today at Aaron Short at The Brooklyn Paper.
The four-story Classic Revival building was erected in 1875 and since 1996 has been used by HSBC. It has been formerly the regional headquarters of the Republic New York Bank until HSBC bought it 14 years ago.
Its main banking hall and vaults and its exterior are official city landmarks.
"Now the bank is selling the building," the article said, "and moving to a new, two-story branch on Bedford Avenue and N. Third Street to better reflect the community's banking needs. HSBC Regional President Ashley Parker called the building 'wonderful' and 'massive,' but said that the historic site is inconsistent with the needs of the bank's clients.
The article said that "Community Board 1 member Ward Dennis noted that the parking lot portion behind the bank could be developed into housing or the whole building could be bought by religious organization, similar to the nearby Williamsburg Trust Company, which is now a Greek Orthodox church.
The imposing building was designed by George B. Post (1837-1913) and erected in 1875 with additions designed in 1906 and 1925 by Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell. Platt Byard Dovell designed restorations in the 1990s.
Many of Post's important New York buildings have vanished: the 8-story Equitable Life Assurance Society of 1870 was the first office building to use elevators; his Western Union Building of 1875 was the first office building to rise as high as ten stories; his 20-story World Building of 1890 was, when built, the tallest building in the city; his New York Produce Exchange building of 1884 at 2 Broadway had a grand skylit hall.
Post also designed, in 1903, the New York Stock Exchange Building, which survives.
In 1990 the bank was merged with Manhattan Savings Bank, which was eventually purchased by Safra Savings Bank. The name was then changed to Republic Bank for Savings in 1993, which three years later merged with the Federal Republic National Bank of New York and converted to the State Republic Bank of New York, only to be acquired by a merger with HSBC Bank USA that same year.
Massey-Knakal Realty Services has a listing for the property that solicits offers and states that the building has more than 47,000 square feet of "available air rights" and that it is zoned residential with a floor-to-area-ratio of 3.0 and commercially with a floor-to-area-ratio of 3.4.
An article at crains.com August 5, 2010 by James Comtois quoted Brendan Maddigan of Massey Knakal who, along with his colleague Mark Lively, is exclusively marketing this property, as stating that "the property has been on the market for one week," he said, adding that this is the first time in its long history that it has ever come up for sale.
The four-story Classic Revival building was erected in 1875 and since 1996 has been used by HSBC. It has been formerly the regional headquarters of the Republic New York Bank until HSBC bought it 14 years ago.
Its main banking hall and vaults and its exterior are official city landmarks.
"Now the bank is selling the building," the article said, "and moving to a new, two-story branch on Bedford Avenue and N. Third Street to better reflect the community's banking needs. HSBC Regional President Ashley Parker called the building 'wonderful' and 'massive,' but said that the historic site is inconsistent with the needs of the bank's clients.
The article said that "Community Board 1 member Ward Dennis noted that the parking lot portion behind the bank could be developed into housing or the whole building could be bought by religious organization, similar to the nearby Williamsburg Trust Company, which is now a Greek Orthodox church.
The imposing building was designed by George B. Post (1837-1913) and erected in 1875 with additions designed in 1906 and 1925 by Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell. Platt Byard Dovell designed restorations in the 1990s.
Many of Post's important New York buildings have vanished: the 8-story Equitable Life Assurance Society of 1870 was the first office building to use elevators; his Western Union Building of 1875 was the first office building to rise as high as ten stories; his 20-story World Building of 1890 was, when built, the tallest building in the city; his New York Produce Exchange building of 1884 at 2 Broadway had a grand skylit hall.
Post also designed, in 1903, the New York Stock Exchange Building, which survives.
In 1990 the bank was merged with Manhattan Savings Bank, which was eventually purchased by Safra Savings Bank. The name was then changed to Republic Bank for Savings in 1993, which three years later merged with the Federal Republic National Bank of New York and converted to the State Republic Bank of New York, only to be acquired by a merger with HSBC Bank USA that same year.
Massey-Knakal Realty Services has a listing for the property that solicits offers and states that the building has more than 47,000 square feet of "available air rights" and that it is zoned residential with a floor-to-area-ratio of 3.0 and commercially with a floor-to-area-ratio of 3.4.
An article at crains.com August 5, 2010 by James Comtois quoted Brendan Maddigan of Massey Knakal who, along with his colleague Mark Lively, is exclusively marketing this property, as stating that "the property has been on the market for one week," he said, adding that this is the first time in its long history that it has ever come up for sale.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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