One of lower Manhattan’s last pockets of pre-gentrification grit will be scrubbed clean by a covey of new residential buildings. In the coming years, the semi-commercial area between Hudson Square and the West Village will spawn at least five new apartment projects, including the recently-approved massive redevelopment of St. John's Terminal.
The latest to move forward will rise from a narrow parcel at 127 Leroy Street between Washington and Greenwich streets. A construction fence has recently been erected and the property still holds the one-story warehouse formerly occupied by Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, even though it was already sold to developer Charles Dunne for $31 million in 2006.
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Downtown’s new architects of choice, BKSK, are listed as designers, and renewed permits were approved earlier this year for a 124-foot, 9-story, 8-unit condominium. Given the proximity to the 1-train and prime Manhattan business districts, constructing a building of such meager proportions begs the question: Has this decision squandered bigger development potential?
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On the upside, the floor schedule submitted to the Department of Buildings shows the immensity of the residential units. The cellar will hold a triplex apartment that will stretch over two floors, floors 3-5 will only hold one or two residences per floor, and floors 6-9 will be occupied by a single quadraplex penthouse. There will also be parking for 12 vehicles and recreation space in the cellar.
Renderings published on the Shibumi Development site show BKSK's choices to utilize stone and glass, symmetrically massed, with emphasis placed on bulking each side along the two opposing avenues. An open, ground-level courtyard will run through the center of the building and the firm’s trademark fenestration of deeply inset windows, surrounded by varying depths of stone piers and spandrels, will articulate the lower floors. The penthouse apartment will be sheathed in glass and will provide larger outdoor terraces with views of the Hudson River and the nearby park.
As mentioned, the area surrounding 127 Leroy is teeming with new development. Across Washington Street is the full-block Morton Square condominium, whose unfortunate design was penned and finished by Costas Kondylis & Partners in 2004.
The 147-unit building currently has 3-units on the market, starting at $2.795 million for a two-bedroom. Across from Morton Square is the Herzog & de Meuron-designed condo rising at 160 Leroy Street, adjacent to which will be the multi-block redevelopment of 550 Washington Street. Going in the other direction, across Greenwich Street, Property Markets Group's 30-unit condo and townhouse complex will rise at 111 Leroy Street. Brack Capital’s 35-unit conversion and addition of 90 Washington / 627 Greenwich Street is now proceeding forward, and nearby, The Printing House has opened its townhouse units to the market and TH2 has a $11.25 million ask.
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