In July, we were gung-ho about Morris Adjmi’s design for 540 Hudson Street, comparing it to a pared down version of Casa Mila in Barcelona. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was less enthusiastic, however, and asked the popular architect to make a few changes that would better submerge the building into the low-scale confines of the West Village.
Based on the materials posted to LPC’s website, the team will return before the panel tomorrow with subtle refinements that include reducing the building’s main roof height from 67’6” to 63’, reducing the size of its distinguishing brick cornice-line, and grouping the windows in sets of three that should better complement the rhythm of the neighborhood. The proposal remains seven floors tall and an undulating brick facade is still shown to roll along its two street-fronts.
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The empty corner site, also known as 109 Charles Street sits squarely within the Greenwich Village Historic District and is owned by the estate of William Gottlieb according to city records. The property once held a gas station and a two-floor auto shop. A preliminary new building application was filed in March calling for a 26-unit residential building with retail and a community center at ground-level.
With much of the West Village within a historic district coupled with its chronic scarcity of buildable sites, condos are likely in the works. The most recent sale development to come online in the neighborhood is 100 Barrow by Toll Brothers City Living where listed units average $2,326 a foot and two-bedrooms are priced from $2.978 million. Presently in the West Village, there are 17 one-bedrooms for sale priced at a median of $2.4 million and 28 two-beds for sale coming in at a median of $3.925 million.