Daniel Vislocky, founder of Station Companies. Google Earth aerial showing site location of 14 Second Avenue
The site of a summer 2000 building collapse at 14 Second Avenue is set developed into a ground-up residential condominium by developer Station Companies. Once finished, the new building will stand 10 floors tall and bring to market full-floor apartments with tree-filled views of the adjacent First Park and Sara D. Roosevelt Park across Houston Street. Each residence will be an open, two-bed, three-bath layout. Amenities will include resident storage and access to a gym on the lower level. A recent visit to the construction site reveals some excavation and prep work has already taken place. Construciton permits are in the process of being approved according to the Department of Buildings.
The site is undergoing excavation, however permits have not been fully approved. (March 2020)
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The site is situated at the cusp of the East Village and the Lower East Side, which is separated by the recently spruced up Houston Street. The project's deep 25-foot-wide lot has sat fallow for more than 18 years. According to the New York Times, the collapsed pre-existing building, estimated to have built in 1865, is believed to have received unauthorized alterations, compromising its structural stability, resulting in its dramatic demise.
The pre-existing building, a four-floor walk-up, held a salvage shop owned by Evan Blum named Irreplaceable Artifact. The collection comprised of artifacts from to-be-demolished buildings near and far, which included Tiffany windows, cast-iron fireplaces, Victorian bathtubs, and a walnut ceiling from William Randolph Hearst's collection. After the partial collapse ripped a three-story hole in the south wall of the building, city officials ordered the building and everything inside destroyed. "It's ironic," Ralph Stevens told the Times, "Evan spends his whole life-saving items from buildings that were going to be demolished."
Existing site of 14 Second Avenue via Station Companies
The next, hopefully brighter chapter for the site is being led by Daniel Vislocky's Street Station Companies who closed on the lot last month for $7 million, according to city records. The firm alongside their preferred designers, Hustvedt Cutler Architects, have built more than $100 million in Manhattan condos. Past ventures include the downtown conversions of the Spice Warehouse at 481 Washington Street, the Paperbox Building at 34 West 17th Street and 286 Spring Street. This appears to be the firm's first ground-up endeavor. One block north, construction is wrapping up on 32 East 1st Street where units are selling more than $2,600 a foot on average.
As we previously mentioned, new residential development encircling Sara D. Roosevelt Park has picked up in recent years. Catty-corner to 14 Second Avenue is the AvalonBay-built The Chrystie which hosts a Whole Food supermarket. New condos on the park's perimeter include 215 Chrystie built by Ian Schrager, 204 Forsyth, 165 Chrystie, and 173 Chrystie.
New condos around Sara D. Roosevelt Park (CityRealty)
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