The Jack Parker Corporation submitted revised plans this week to the City Planning Commission for certification into the Uniform Land Use Process (ULURP) of a proposed development in TriBeCa.
The commission, however, ¿laid over¿ the plans at its review session on the basis that it found the plans ¿incomplete.¿
In papers filed January 23, Kenneth K. Lowenstein of the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, requested, on behalf of the Jack Parker Corporation, a rezoning from M1-5 to C6-3A and C6-2A to permit new residential development of a four-block area of the Special TriBeCa Mixed Use District bounded by Watts Street on the north, Hubert Street on the south, West Street on the west and Washington Street on the east.
The papers also sought text amendments to the district and a special permit for a public parking garage of 180 spaces in a ¿new, primarily residential building which would be allowed as-of-right under the proposed rezoning.¿
The building would be constructed on the block bounded by West, Washington, Watts and Desbrosses Streets. The block, which is controlled by the applicant, contains low-rise buildings of 2 to 5 stories that were previously used for parking and automotive-related uses but with one exception are now vacant. The southwestern corner is a parking lot of a restaurant across Desbrosses Street.
The planned new building, which is being designed by SCLE Architects, would contain about 260,000 square feet of floor area with ground floor retail space. The garage would be in the cellar with ingress and egress from Desbrosses Street and it would be fully attended. The principal entrance to the new building and the retail space would be located on Washington Street.
A first floor plan for the proposed building indicated that the building would have a very large center garden surrounded by residential units.
The proposed revisions would, among other things, permit a maximum base height of 150 feet and a maximum building height of 160 feet within 100 feet of a wide street.
¿By mapping the higher density C6-3A district along West Street and the lower density C6-2A district on Washington Street and allowing floor area to be transferred from the lower density to the higher density district, the proposed zoning would encourage new residential development that is consistent with the ongoing development patterns of TriBeCa. It will allow taller buildings along the waterfront while providing for a transition in the scale of development moving eastward. Maximum street wall and building heights along Washington Street would be consistent with the existing character of that street and much of the remainder of northern TriBeCa," the papers on file at the Planning Department, maintained.
Previously, the applicant had planned a 210-foot-high building.
Community Board 1, according to some press reports, has been seeking to have the city rezone all of North TriBeCa to permit no buildings higher than 140 feet and with a floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.) of 5.
The area in question is a few blocks north of the Smith Barney skyscraper and the three tall apartment towers at Independence Plaza. The proposed building would be shorter than the three apartment towers designed by
Richard Meier several blocks to the north.
No renderings of the Parker building were available as the project is still being designed.
The commission, however, ¿laid over¿ the plans at its review session on the basis that it found the plans ¿incomplete.¿
In papers filed January 23, Kenneth K. Lowenstein of the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, requested, on behalf of the Jack Parker Corporation, a rezoning from M1-5 to C6-3A and C6-2A to permit new residential development of a four-block area of the Special TriBeCa Mixed Use District bounded by Watts Street on the north, Hubert Street on the south, West Street on the west and Washington Street on the east.
The papers also sought text amendments to the district and a special permit for a public parking garage of 180 spaces in a ¿new, primarily residential building which would be allowed as-of-right under the proposed rezoning.¿
The building would be constructed on the block bounded by West, Washington, Watts and Desbrosses Streets. The block, which is controlled by the applicant, contains low-rise buildings of 2 to 5 stories that were previously used for parking and automotive-related uses but with one exception are now vacant. The southwestern corner is a parking lot of a restaurant across Desbrosses Street.
The planned new building, which is being designed by SCLE Architects, would contain about 260,000 square feet of floor area with ground floor retail space. The garage would be in the cellar with ingress and egress from Desbrosses Street and it would be fully attended. The principal entrance to the new building and the retail space would be located on Washington Street.
A first floor plan for the proposed building indicated that the building would have a very large center garden surrounded by residential units.
The proposed revisions would, among other things, permit a maximum base height of 150 feet and a maximum building height of 160 feet within 100 feet of a wide street.
¿By mapping the higher density C6-3A district along West Street and the lower density C6-2A district on Washington Street and allowing floor area to be transferred from the lower density to the higher density district, the proposed zoning would encourage new residential development that is consistent with the ongoing development patterns of TriBeCa. It will allow taller buildings along the waterfront while providing for a transition in the scale of development moving eastward. Maximum street wall and building heights along Washington Street would be consistent with the existing character of that street and much of the remainder of northern TriBeCa," the papers on file at the Planning Department, maintained.
Previously, the applicant had planned a 210-foot-high building.
Community Board 1, according to some press reports, has been seeking to have the city rezone all of North TriBeCa to permit no buildings higher than 140 feet and with a floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.) of 5.
The area in question is a few blocks north of the Smith Barney skyscraper and the three tall apartment towers at Independence Plaza. The proposed building would be shorter than the three apartment towers designed by
Richard Meier several blocks to the north.
No renderings of the Parker building were available as the project is still being designed.
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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