Rendering of new penthouse at 165 Mercer Street via Flank
Classic Soho meets modern demands at 165 Mercer Street, where a nearly 150-year-old parking garage is being converted to commercial space. The project will take shape through a joint venture with the Batt family, which has owned the garage since the late 1960s, and Flank, known for its design of Brooklyn's first timber buildings in nearly 100 years. The ground floor and cellar levels will be devoted to retail, and the top floors will be office space.
Office rendering via Flank
165 Mercer Street was originally conceived to house factories in the 1870s, but has served as a parking garage since the 1920s, as per an official website. Its location in the Soho-Cast Iron Historic District meant that Landmarks Preservation Commission approval was needed for the new use, and they got it in September 2016. Period details have been preserved, and a new floor on top of the building will be a light-filled penthouse with private outdoor space. The offices inside will allow for plug-and-play suites including designer bathrooms and kitchenettes.
165 Mercer Street is surrounded by some of Soho's most fashionably elite shopping and restaurants, but the area is not all style and no substance. Two new boutique office developments are on the rise at 300 Lafayette Street and 606 Broadway, the better to accommodate the needs of TAMI companies that have flocked to Soho. Children's book publisher Scholastic started the trend in 2001; more recently, Thrillist, ZocDoc, and Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global have also chosen Soho for office headquarters.
Rendering via Flank
Retail rendering via Flank
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Michelle Mazzarella
Michelle is a contributing writer and editor for real estate news in New York City
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