Rendering of 130 Prince Street via Bjarke Ingels Group for Landmarks Preservation Commission
Despite the currently weakened office market, developers are optimistic enough about its comeback to embark on ambitious retrofits of historic buildings. The rich architectural details and expansive floor plates provide great bones, but a new emphasis on fresh air and outdoor space takes today's concerns and wishes into account.
A prime example can be found in the Ladies Mile Historic District at 122 Fifth Avenue, a neo-Renaissance building designed by Robert Maynicke and completed circa 1899-1900. The building was conceived as a store and loft building and is currently home to the Barnes and Noble corporate headquarters (two blocks from the Union Square location) with Gap, Gap Kids, and Gap Body in the retail base. Owner Bromley Companies completed a $6 million renovation in 2010, and is now planning a rooftop addition with outdoor space. The Landmarks Preservation Commission ("Landmarks") approved the project with modifications in November 2018. Almost exactly two years later, permits were filed with STUDIOS Architecture as the designer of record.
A prime example can be found in the Ladies Mile Historic District at 122 Fifth Avenue, a neo-Renaissance building designed by Robert Maynicke and completed circa 1899-1900. The building was conceived as a store and loft building and is currently home to the Barnes and Noble corporate headquarters (two blocks from the Union Square location) with Gap, Gap Kids, and Gap Body in the retail base. Owner Bromley Companies completed a $6 million renovation in 2010, and is now planning a rooftop addition with outdoor space. The Landmarks Preservation Commission ("Landmarks") approved the project with modifications in November 2018. Almost exactly two years later, permits were filed with STUDIOS Architecture as the designer of record.
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Further downtown, another rooftop addition is set to take place at 130 Prince Street, located on the corner of Wooster Street and in the heart of the Soho-Cast Iron Historic District. It was designed as a garage in 1925, but the mixed-use commercial building is poised to feature cellar-level speakeasy and event space, grade-level retail, and loft-like offices spanning floors two through five. The rooftop addition is part of the office component and necessitated the trip before Landmarks.
Designer Bjarke Ingels Group has some experience in this area, having also designed Amazon’s new headquarters with a recreational rooftop and The Spiral, Pfizer's future headquarters that will be distinguished by the outdoor terraces winding up the building. According to the Landmarks presentation, 130 Prince Street's rooftop will feature a pergola with herb garden, a glass-sheathed and copper nickel-roofed pavilion with conference and meeting spaces, and a circular plaza at the center. Landmarks had previously approved interior renovations that would have no effect on the buildings, and this expansion was approved with modifications at the end of October 2020.
Designer Bjarke Ingels Group has some experience in this area, having also designed Amazon’s new headquarters with a recreational rooftop and The Spiral, Pfizer's future headquarters that will be distinguished by the outdoor terraces winding up the building. According to the Landmarks presentation, 130 Prince Street's rooftop will feature a pergola with herb garden, a glass-sheathed and copper nickel-roofed pavilion with conference and meeting spaces, and a circular plaza at the center. Landmarks had previously approved interior renovations that would have no effect on the buildings, and this expansion was approved with modifications at the end of October 2020.
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