A one-story commercial building in the NoHo Historic District will be getting a full-scale renovation. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a proposal to update 59 Bleecker Street.
The site is located at the southwest corner with Lafayette Street, and is at that corner because of the extension of Lafayette Street. It occupies the full street front of Lafayette from Bleecker Street to Jones Alley. The site was once home to three mixed-use rowhouses.
In 1921, new construction was executed and the site became home to both a automobile service station and a liquor store (at the same time). The building was modified around 1980, leaving us with basically what we have today, which is really two buildings. The historic district was designated in 1999.
Existing conditions at 59 Bleecker Street
Now, the plan, supervised by architect John Beyer of Beyer Blinder Belle, is to renovate the somewhat deteriorated structure. The terra cotta remains on the Bleecker Street corner will be repaired and restored and a stylized version of it will be extended to the Jones Alley end of the structure.
The new storefronts will be aluminum and glass. There will be signage in the glass, as well as a bracket sign on the Lafayette Street side of the building. That bracket sign will pay tribute to the bracket sign on the old service station.
59 Bleecker Street, 1940. Via NYPL
Beyer said the base of the building is actually higher than he originally planned, but the change was made after interactions with Manhattan Community Board 2, which also asked for more texture and a bigger bulkhead.
“I like it,” said LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan. Commissioner John Gustafsson said the commissioners should be appreciative that the applicant didn’t go to extremes with the renovation proposal.
There was no public testimony and the proposal was approved unanimously.
View the full presentation slides here:
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Thanks for details and photos in the past, one piece of development for building site.
This is not an urbanistically valuable building. Moreover it represents an urbanistic detraction. The present use in no way, both architecturally / urbanistically as well as in ‘real estate’ terms, represents the highest and best use for this site.
This site is best thought of as a candidate for complete redevelopment. We need not bother with the proverbial application of ‘lipstick on the pig’ here.
Frank;
this low rise building and the bayard building adjacent to the west are / is the only Louis Sullivan building in NYC, therefore, very arguably it has architectural value. the challenge is to give it urban and real estate value.
Thank you for your thoughtful response.
Yout point is a valid one to be sure. The Louis Sullivan connection does confer an importance to be considered. However, looking at the street view, which shows the Bayard Building beyond the subject property, it’s eastern party wall quite unceremonially and indeed unflatteringly exposed does pose the urbanistic quandary which prompts a possibly more wholistic assessment of the appropriate handling of the experienced conditions.