A vacant lot in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood will be no more. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a new building for 145 Gates Avenue (at the corner of Grand Avenue). The structure will be a three-story house (four with the cellar) with four bedrooms in the Italianate style.
Historically, a similar-sized house stood on the site, but was demolished before designation of the Clinton Hill Historic District. Construction of this new home, designed by the firm of architect Gerald J. Caliendo, will restore the full block of brownstones. It will feature a double door at the entrance, a cornice which duplicates those at 135 and 139 Gates Avenue, a partially sunken rear yard, and a curb cut to allow for rear parking of two cars along Grand Avenue.
LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan called the design “good.” Commissioner Michael Devonshire echoed the concerns of the Historic Districts Council (HDC) when he called the bay window proposed along Grand Avenue “kinda wimpy.” The applicant will work with LPC staff on the details of the bay window.
Only one piece of public testimony was delivered and that was by HDC’s Barbara Zay. “While HDC does not object to the choice of a historic style for this new building, we do find that if this is the chosen route, more rigorous study of the details is needed,” Zay said. “The bay window on the side elevation gave our committee pause, as the proportions and details are not quite accurate, and the bay should be square, rather than angled. On the rear, our committee felt that the cornice should line up with that of its neighbor, whose corbelled brick details and lintel and sill design should also be replicated or referenced here.”
Evan Bindelglass is a local freelance journalist, photographer, cinephile, and foodie. You can e-mail him, follow him on Twitter @evabin, or check out his personal blog.
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