New Greenwich Village Building Changes Design In Approval Push

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — Developers of a new building in Greenwich Village that would replace a vacant one-story property at 15 Greenwich Avenue are reappearing in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission next week with updated designs after pushback against original plans from the Commission, Community Board 2, and Lower Manhattan preservation organizations.

On Tuesday, Meltzer/Mandl Architects will go in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission to approve the updates it was told to make after a meeting with the same commission in July.

The 15 Greenwich Avenue address is within the Greenwich Village Historic District, meaning any changes to the existing one-story building must be approved by Landmarks.

Demolition permits were filed in June for 15 Greenwich Avenue, which most recently housed the Chinese restaurant Niu. A new building permit was filed earlier in the year at the location for a 7,193-square-foot mixed-use building.

According to permits, the new building would be 63-feet-tall and have 4,033 square feet of residential space and 1,139 square feet of commercial space.

The Landmarks Commission told the developers of the new mixed-use building at 15 Greenwich Avenue to focus on the following changes to design after its July meeting:

• Present a more interesting, contemporary, yet contextual design, with details, style and scale that relate to the historic district.
• Exchange the use of thin brick for full wythe masonry veneer on the primary facade.
• Provide a sleeker storefront, with strong separation between the ground floor and the upper stories and a distinct residential entrance.

Here is how developers have changed the design.

The new building would be six stories tall.

"However, the design of new buildings must be deemed “appropriate” for the context of their historic district, and these two designs (view here and here) fall well short of that mark," Village Preservation said in a news release. "Both are attempts by developers to squeeze the largest new construction they can get away with onto these sites, compromising the integrity of their surroundings."

The current vacant one-story building at 15 Greenwich Avenue is sandwiched between a five-story building on its right and a much taller building on its left.

This is the way it currently looks.

The Preservation's mention of the second design is in reference to a development design for a SoHo building that is also going in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday.

You can find out more about the Tuesday Landmarks Preservation Commission on the city's website.

Read More:

• Pushback On Proposed New Six-Story Building In Greenwich Village