Sky Lofts at 145 Hudson, 145 Hudson Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 145 Hudson Street by Carter Horsley

This attractive 14-story Art Deco-style building was built in 1928 and designed by Renwick, Aspinwall & Guard and was known as the Hudson Square Building because it overlooked a large open area of that name that subsequently became part of the road network that connected with the approaches and exits of the Holland Tunnel a few blocks to the north and west.

In 2000, Joseph Pell Lombardi, an architect long active in residential conversions of older commercial properties, converted this yellow-brick building from industrial use to residential condominiums. The bottom four floors have been converted to commercial condominiums. The top four floors are known now as the Sky Lofts and have been designed by Rogers Marvel Architects PLLC. The top of the building has duplex penthouses that are among the most spectacular in TriBeCa.

The beige-brick has a large lobby and a gray-granite two-story base. The building has arched windows next to the top floor of the original building and its façades are modulated by narrowly spaced piers at the corners framing the broad center windows. The building has no sidewalk landscaping.

Although there is considerable traffic across Hudson Street from the building, the broad space of the tunnel-related roads and park provides the building with considerable and protected "light and air."

This building occupied the full block frontage on Hudson Street between Hubert and Beach Streets and is wonderfully complemented by a new and exquisite, 16-story, residential condominium building directly behind it at 7 Hubert Street along a two-block narrow alley known as Collister Street.

This TriBeCa area is very close to several very handsome residential conversions of former industrial buildings near the Hudson River and many charming restaurants. It is also close to the quite striking and large office building north of the Independence Plaza complex on Washington Street.

Canal Street is also a couple of blocks away and SoHo just another couple of blocks.