The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved with minor modifications Tuesday a plan to add a floor to the former Claremont Riding Academy building at 175 West 89th Street, which is being converted into a 9-unit residential condominium development.
The Romanesque Revival-style building was erected in 1892 and designed by Frank A. Rooke. It was declared an individually designated landmark in 1988.
Sheridan Paulsen, a former chairman of the landmarks commission and a partner in PKSB Architects, is the architect for the conversion.
Brad Rinzler of Dominion Management is the developer.
The city condemned the 5-story property in 1961 as part of the West Side Urban Renewal Area and the riding academy was a month-to-month tenant in the building until 1998 when it was able to reacquire the building and subsequently spent over $2 million in restoring it. The owner of the academy, Paul Novograd, has said that not only were rising costs a factor in his decision to close it last April but also the "degradation of the Central Park Bridle Paths," adding that "The magnificent Bridle Paths, whose deep cinder surface was once lovingly tended, was allowed to erode down to its bedrock sub-strata, making it impossible to canter or keep horses sound."
The riding academy, which charged about $55 an hour to rent a horse for trip on the Bridle Paths in Central Park, was founded in 1927. The building was built as a public livery stable. Many of the academy's 45 horses have gone to the Potomac Horse Center in Gaithersburg, Md., which is operated by Mr. Novograd and some were sold privately and some were given to the Yale University riding team. Mr. Novograd's father, Irwin Novograd, bought the property in 1943.
Mr. Novograd sold the building last year for $14 million to Dominion Management.
Ms. Paulsen told the commission that apartments in the building will have wide wooden floorboards and soapstone and copper detailing. Marketing for the units is expected to start by the end of this year.
The building has arched windows on the first, fourth and fifth floors and a keystone in the shape of a horseshoe is centered over the building's main arched entrance. The building's name appears in the center of the building's facade above the fifth floor.
The Romanesque Revival-style building was erected in 1892 and designed by Frank A. Rooke. It was declared an individually designated landmark in 1988.
Sheridan Paulsen, a former chairman of the landmarks commission and a partner in PKSB Architects, is the architect for the conversion.
Brad Rinzler of Dominion Management is the developer.
The city condemned the 5-story property in 1961 as part of the West Side Urban Renewal Area and the riding academy was a month-to-month tenant in the building until 1998 when it was able to reacquire the building and subsequently spent over $2 million in restoring it. The owner of the academy, Paul Novograd, has said that not only were rising costs a factor in his decision to close it last April but also the "degradation of the Central Park Bridle Paths," adding that "The magnificent Bridle Paths, whose deep cinder surface was once lovingly tended, was allowed to erode down to its bedrock sub-strata, making it impossible to canter or keep horses sound."
The riding academy, which charged about $55 an hour to rent a horse for trip on the Bridle Paths in Central Park, was founded in 1927. The building was built as a public livery stable. Many of the academy's 45 horses have gone to the Potomac Horse Center in Gaithersburg, Md., which is operated by Mr. Novograd and some were sold privately and some were given to the Yale University riding team. Mr. Novograd's father, Irwin Novograd, bought the property in 1943.
Mr. Novograd sold the building last year for $14 million to Dominion Management.
Ms. Paulsen told the commission that apartments in the building will have wide wooden floorboards and soapstone and copper detailing. Marketing for the units is expected to start by the end of this year.
The building has arched windows on the first, fourth and fifth floors and a keystone in the shape of a horseshoe is centered over the building's main arched entrance. The building's name appears in the center of the building's facade above the fifth floor.
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.
6sqft delivers the latest on real estate, architecture, and design, straight from New York City.
