The Sky Lofts at 145 Hudson Street in TriBeCa received a temporary certificate of occupancy today, according to Sean Murphy Turner, executive vice president of Stribling and Associates, who is marketing the property.
The Sky Lofts consist of several units atop the 14-story Art Deco-style building between Hubert and Beach Streets that 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 connected with the approaches and exits of the Holland Tunnel a few blocks to the north and west.
Stanley Scott bought the building in 1981 and about a decade ago planned to convert part of the industrial building to residential condominiums. In 1996 Joseph Pell Lombardi, one of the city's most active and experienced architects specializing in the residential conversion of older commercial properties, presented plans for its conversion to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which approved them the next year. Those plans also called for the building to be linked to a new building on an adjoining parking lot by a bridge. The plans called for 42 residences in the existing building and about 70 in the new building.
Mr. Scott got approval for the new building, but in 2000 he sold it and it was eventually developed as The Hubert, a 16-story building with about 34 residences.
Sales for the converted units in at 145 Hudson Street began in late 2002 and all eight units sold quickly at prices ranging from $3.45 million to $4.4 million.
A September 27, 2002 article in The New York Times by Rachelle Garbarine noted that Mr. Scott said that in the "next stage of conversions" approvals would be sought to convert the 5th through the 10th floors into 18 more condo apartments.
Last year, however, the landmarks commission maintained that it had only approved a 13-foot-high penthouse and what was built was about 20 feet high. Lombardi had moved on to other projects and was replaced by Rogers Marvel Architects. The landmarks commission wanted the penthouse's visibility lowered even though the commission's former chairman, Sherida Paulsen, had declared in 2002 that the plan "echoed the original design."
Ms. Turner told CityRealty.com today that the two penthouses that had been listed on the building's website as "temporarily off the market" were now being combined into one that would contain about 7,000 square feet. Presumably it will have somewhat lower ceilings and lower "visibility."
The bottom four floors were converted to commercial condominiums and have been occupied for some time, but the residential units have not been able to "close" until now.
A lengthy article by S. Jhoanna Robledo depicting the building's closing problems entitled "Prisoners of Hudson Street - They Bought in 2002 and They Still Can't Move In!" appeared in the April 17, 2006 edition of New York magazine.
The beige-brick building has a large lobby and a gray-granite two-story base. The building has arched windows on the next to the top floor of the original building and its facades are modulated by narrowly spaced piers at the corners framing the broad center windows.
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."
The lofts have ceilings about 12 feet high and woodburning fireplaces, Subzero refrigerators, and white oak floors.
The Sky Lofts consist of several units atop the 14-story Art Deco-style building between Hubert and Beach Streets that 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 connected with the approaches and exits of the Holland Tunnel a few blocks to the north and west.
Stanley Scott bought the building in 1981 and about a decade ago planned to convert part of the industrial building to residential condominiums. In 1996 Joseph Pell Lombardi, one of the city's most active and experienced architects specializing in the residential conversion of older commercial properties, presented plans for its conversion to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which approved them the next year. Those plans also called for the building to be linked to a new building on an adjoining parking lot by a bridge. The plans called for 42 residences in the existing building and about 70 in the new building.
Mr. Scott got approval for the new building, but in 2000 he sold it and it was eventually developed as The Hubert, a 16-story building with about 34 residences.
Sales for the converted units in at 145 Hudson Street began in late 2002 and all eight units sold quickly at prices ranging from $3.45 million to $4.4 million.
A September 27, 2002 article in The New York Times by Rachelle Garbarine noted that Mr. Scott said that in the "next stage of conversions" approvals would be sought to convert the 5th through the 10th floors into 18 more condo apartments.
Last year, however, the landmarks commission maintained that it had only approved a 13-foot-high penthouse and what was built was about 20 feet high. Lombardi had moved on to other projects and was replaced by Rogers Marvel Architects. The landmarks commission wanted the penthouse's visibility lowered even though the commission's former chairman, Sherida Paulsen, had declared in 2002 that the plan "echoed the original design."
Ms. Turner told CityRealty.com today that the two penthouses that had been listed on the building's website as "temporarily off the market" were now being combined into one that would contain about 7,000 square feet. Presumably it will have somewhat lower ceilings and lower "visibility."
The bottom four floors were converted to commercial condominiums and have been occupied for some time, but the residential units have not been able to "close" until now.
A lengthy article by S. Jhoanna Robledo depicting the building's closing problems entitled "Prisoners of Hudson Street - They Bought in 2002 and They Still Can't Move In!" appeared in the April 17, 2006 edition of New York magazine.
The beige-brick building has a large lobby and a gray-granite two-story base. The building has arched windows on the next to the top floor of the original building and its facades are modulated by narrowly spaced piers at the corners framing the broad center windows.
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."
The lofts have ceilings about 12 feet high and woodburning fireplaces, Subzero refrigerators, and white oak floors.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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