Mixed Use Industrial/Residential Building

Brooklyn, NY
Completed 2019

Located in the Cobble Hill Historic District, the building was built in 1906 for $6,000. It combines the Renaissance Revival with the Industrial Style. It included a stable on the first floor and a residence on the upper floors. By the 1980’s one of the two bays of the historic building had been infilled and a pedestrian door and window added. Before he was our client, the owner initiated alterations without obtaining a proper permit. Landmarks issued violations and wanted the building façade restored to its historic design. Our client had his own ideas, he wanted to create two new garage doors with transoms above and two new pedestrian doors. We researched and documented the District’s historic and altered buildings with street front garage and pedestrian doors and thereby created a catalog of historic precedents. We studied and presented driveway and traffic analyses vis-à-vis the property’s existing curb cut which bolstered our argument for creating two new narrow garage door openings. Our design salvaged the existing cast iron column – the distinguishing feature of the façade’s Industrial Style – and proposed a replica to create a symmetrical design that neither eliminated nor obscured any architectural fabric contributing to the historic character of the district. The Commissioners unanimously approved. Shortly after construction, an unsolicited offer arrived which our client couldn’t refuse. The building broke the record for the highest price ever paid in Brooklyn for a single family residence.

Press

“$15.5 Million, a Record for Brooklyn Real Estate” – The New York Times, by Vivian Marino