Since the state re-opened applications the loft law in July, YIMBY has noticed a few filings from industrial landlords who want to legalize apartments in their illegally converted loft buildings. Yesterday we spotted one for 304 Boerum Street in East Williamsburg, where the owner is trying once again to get a new certificate of occupancy.
The alteration application lays out an unusual combination of manufacturing, office space, apartments and artist studios. More specifically, the four-story loft building would be divided between 31,257 square feet of residential space, 4,200 square feet of manufacturing, and 15,000 square feet of commercial space.
The art studios and a “food processing establishment” would occupy the basement, followed by a wood shop on the first floor, and offices on the second. There would also be three units on the second floor, five units on the third floor, and four units and office space on the fourth floor. All told, the 1920s factory would host 12 apartments.
One of the property’s tenants is Chez Bushwick, a non-profit that rents rehearsal space to performing artists. A graphic design company, Design Station, works on the fourth floor.
The building has a lengthy list of DOB complaints and violations, and it looks like people have been living there for at least 15 years. The owner, Rob Herschenfeld, has registered the building as an Interim Multiple Dwelling (IMD) with the city’s Loft Board, which gives his tenants all the legal rights of renters in normal residential buildings. Nailing down IMD status is just one of the many byzantine steps involved in securing a residential certificate of occupancy. He tried filing plans for a new C of O last year, but they were disapproved.
The loft also sits at the western end of the East Williamsburg-Bushwick industrial zone, and the manufacturing zoning probably makes it even harder to legalize the property for for residential use.
The property at the corner of Boerum and White Streets last changed hands just for just $40,000 in 2006.
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This seems like a great win for the city in this area. The combination of uses might be unusual, but it meets the city’s goals of preserving light manufacturing/industrial space, while not denying the natural fact that the area is gaining a residential population. The city would be foolish not to approve this one.