Superior Ink plant redevelopment (469 West Street)

[krulltime]

New and newer plans submitted for Superior Ink plant site on West Street

http://i.pbase.com/v3/55/435155/1/51775824.SuperiorInkPlant2.JPG

http://i.pbase.com/v3/55/435155/1/51775820.SuperiorInkPlant.JPG

02-NOV-05

Don’t blink.

That was the marching song today at the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals as The Related Companies presented a modified plan of its controversial redevelopment project on the site of the Superior Ink plant at 469 West Street, which is also known as 70 Bethune Street.

It was a short presentation by Jerry Johnson of Wachtel & Masyr LLP and Charles Gwathmey of Gwathmey Siegel Associates, the architect. The modifications included a lowered "street wall," reduced bulk and a shift in the placement of the project’s tower from the midblock towards West Street overlooking the Hudson River. The revised plan had been submitted to the board Monday.

Meenakshi Srinavasan, the chairperson of the board, then opened the crowded hearing at 40 Rector Street to public testimony and heard testimony from representatives from neighboring buildings such as Westbeth, 380 West 12th Street and 130 Jane Street that at the prodding of the Department of City Planning they had made a strenuous and difficult effort to reach a compromise that was forged in last-minute "compromise" meetings last night. Many of the speakers praised Related for making concessions and agreeing in principle to a compromise even though it had not thought it possible.

Ms. Srinavasan asked if the new "compromise" plan could be shown the board and her eyes widened when she was told it could not.

The "compromise" plan, she was told by several speakers, would lower the project’s street wall from 60 to 40 feet and shift the tower’s position further away from the side-streets.

Mr. Johnson requested that the board hold the hearing open until the developer could return with two revised plans and Ms. Srinavasan gave it until November 15 with another hearing set for November 22. Mr. Johnson requested that a decision be given at that point, but Ms. Srinavasan declined, stating "one thing at a time."

Both of the plans discussed at the hearing would not change the height of the proposed project but the compromise plan would make the tower "fatter."

Mr. Johnson said that its modified plan would have a tower that would about 185 feet tall as compared with the 199-foot-height of the three towers a few blocks to the south on West Street that were designed by Richard Meier and erected "as-of-right," that is, within existing building and zoning regulations, prior to the recent rezoning by the city that has downzoned much of the West Street corridor but did apply to the Superior Ink site, to the dismay of some civic and preservation organizations.

Related originally had planned a larger, 225-foot-high, 104-unit tower on the site that would have been similar in design to its project now nearing completion at 445 Lafayette Street, a very attractive and large reflective glass tower with many curves that was also designed by Mr. Gwathmey. Mr. Johnson said Related’s "modified" plan now calls for between 60 and 70 condominium apartments.

Mr. Johnson said that Related’s new tower design is about the same height as Westbeth, the artists’ studio building just to the south.

Jessie McNabe, a resident of the 383-unit Westbeth, however, urged the board to keep the issue open long enough to determine the environmental impact of the new project on neighboring watertables, noting that construction of such a large project in a high water table along West Street might jeopardize nearby properties structurally.

The recent rezoning has affected several other sites in the area including a proposal by Richard Born, Charles Blaichman and Ira Drucker, the developers of two of the three Richard Meier towers at Perry and Charles Streets, to build a new tower at 166 Perry Street, and a new building planed by artist Julian Schnabel on West 11th Street. The Department of Buildings has requested that work on those projects be halted.


Copyright © 1994-2005 CITY REALTY

[lofter1]

Both of the plans discussed at the hearing would not change the height of the proposed project but the compromise plan would make the tower "fatter."

EEeeek :eek:

[krulltime]

Related presents new plan for Superior Ink site in Far West Village

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1133310847_west469s.gif


The Related Companies has reached a compromise design with various community groups for its controversial project at 469 West Street, which is presently occupied by the former Superior Ink building.

Related had originally proposed a 270-foot-high, 23-story structure with residential condominiums for the site and that design was similar in its configuration to its development at 445 Lafayette Street, now nearing completion. That building, which is across the street from Cooper Union, is notable for its curved reflective glass facades. It was designed by Gwathmey-Siegel Architects, which is also designing the West Street project for Related.

At November 2 hearing at the city’s Board of Standards & Appeals, Related submitted a revised, smaller and non-curvilinear design for the West Street project, but announced that it had just reached a compromise agreement with several community groups for a different and still smaller design, one that had not yet, in fact, been designed.

At a lengthy hearing today at the Board of Standards & Appeals, several community groups and spokespersons for several elected officials applauded Related for its willingness to be responsive to the community. Almost all of the speakers emphasized that they endorsed the new compromise, although almost added that they still had reservations about various aspects of the design.

The new design was recently presented to the board and to various community groups, but was not shown at the hearing. The view above shows the full-block project from the south with West Street on the left and townhouse units on the right. The tower is setback about 35 feet from Bethune Street and about 25 feet from West 12th Street and its lower portion is indented about 4 feet.

Meenakshi Srinivasan, chair of the board, closed the hearing and requested some more financial information and design specifics from Related and indicated that the board will make a decision January 10.

Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick declared in a statement that she appreciates that "Related has taken the unprecedented step of simultaneously submitting for consideration two plans, Plan A which was discussed at the November 2nd BSA hearing and Plan B which is having its initial hearing today," adding that "Related’s willingness to listen to their neighbors’s desires regarding the placement of the tower is appreciated and has resulted in a plan for the tower’s placement which is more appropriate and appears to have significantly less drastic impacts on adjacent buildings than does Plan A." She said, however, that "there remain problems with both plans" and maintained that the board and Related should consider options to lower the project’s height and use more traditional materials.

Similar comments were read in a statement by State Senator Thomas K. Duane. The statement said he remains "concerned about the overall height and the possibility of a glass façade." He urged that the board, however, support the plan: "its passage would ensure that the hard work of all parties is rewarded."

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, testified that "the building is still too tall," adding that "given that a variance must be the minimum necessary, we see no reason why the proposed floor-to-ceiling heights [10 feet] cannot be reduced the bring down the overall height of the building. Additionally, we would support moving the mechanicals to the basement of the building to further reduce the building’s height and mass if it can be done without contributing to construction impacts."

"We find the stepped out, cantilevered upper section of the building completely inappropriate, and feel strongly that it should be eliminated," Mr. Berman declared, adding that his organization "strongly" urges that the façade design be "re-thought."


Copyright © 1994-2005 CITY REALTY

[krulltime]

Related had originally proposed a 270-foot-high, 23-story structure with residential condominiums for the site and that design was similar in its configuration to its development at 445 Lafayette Street, now nearing completion. That building, which is across the street from Cooper Union, is notable for its curved reflective glass facades. It was designed by Gwathmey-Siegel Architects, which is also designing the West Street project for Related.

At November 2 hearing at the city’s Board of Standards & Appeals, Related submitted a revised, smaller and non-curvilinear design for the West Street project, but announced that it had just reached a compromise agreement with several community groups for a different and still smaller design, one that had not yet, in fact, been designed.


Oh I hate this community groups! It seems like now they are the ones to decide what to be built there! What a bunch of loosers. Such a prime spot for something neat.

[lofter1]

But this building isn't neat or attractive, from the little that I can see.

Look at River Lofts down in Tribeca: a fantastic looking modern building -- that manages to appear brand new and as through it were a structure that has been on that site for 100 years.

Also the industrial looking brick building that went up a few years ago a couple of blocks to the north. It seemed huge at the time (not so much anymore). But it works in the neighborhood.

The bottom line is when a variance for a "Special Permit" to build bigger / higher is requested (yes, it is not a right to build beyond what zoning allows) then the developer has to listen to community input and make compromises. The last thing needed on that site is another Gwathmey-Siegel type thing that screams Look at Me!

[krulltime]

^ I dont know, I believe that something with curves will be awesome. But the desing that I see aswell or what is being compromised at the last minute with these community groups does not sound that interesting.

[krulltime]

Related's plans for Superior Ink site in West Village approved


10-JAN-06

The Board of Standards & Appeals today approved a zoning variance for a 190-foot-high residential condominium development by The Related Companies at 469 West Street, which is also known as 70 Bethune Street, in the Far West Village.

The project will be developed on the site of the Superior Inks factory. It has been designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, which designed the curved blue-glass tower at Astor Place now nearing completed for Related.

Related initially proposed a similar tower for the Superior Inks site, but encountered opposition by preservationists who were campaigning for a rezoning of the neighborhood that would, among other things, lower the permissible height of some buildings.

The Superior Inks site was ultimately not included in the rezoning that was enacted, but Related revised its design several times by lowering its height and reverting to a rectilinear design. The original design called for a 210,000-square-foot building that would have been 270 feet height.

In a dramatic, last-minute compromise with preservationists and neighborhood groups the night before the previous hearing on the building at the Board of Standards and Appeals, Related agreed to lower the building to 190 feet and to reduce its size to 190,000 square feet.

A recent, but not final rendering of the building’s façade along Bethune Street is shown at the right. The building's tower is at the western end of the site and setback from the sidestreets.

Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said he was “grateful” for the “partial victory” in getting the Board to reduce the size of the building, but, he continued, “we will still fight to landmark the wonderful Superior Inks factory, the last working factory along the Greenwich Village waterfront and long a local landmark with its twin smokestacks.”

Mr. Berman also said his organization “will continue to push Related to further reduce the size and height o the building they are proposing, and to eliminate the 10-story-high glass walls they are proposing, which are totally inappropriate.

His organization submitted a landmarking plan and Mr. Berman said that the city has “proposed to landmark about five blocks and 50 buildings in the Far West Village, but has not yet included this site.”

"Greenwich Village is a special and historic place, and we don’t want it to become another glass high rise Miami,” Mr. Berman said.

The board closed hearings on two other controversial projects in the Far West Village, 163 Charles Street and 164-172 Perry Street, both small but modern mid-block projects close to the three towers designed by Richard Meier along West Street not too far south of the Superior Inks site.

The board is expected to issue decisions on those projects January 31.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY

[krulltime]

Mr. Berman also said his organization “will continue to push Related to further reduce the size and height o the building they are proposing, and to eliminate the 10-story-high glass walls they are proposing, which are totally inappropriate.

"Greenwich Village is a special and historic place, and we don’t want it to become another glass high rise Miami,” Mr. Berman said.

I don't like this guy. He sounds like he wants Manhattan not to have any style at all.

[infoshare]

I don't like this guy. He sounds like he wants Manhattan not to have any style at all.

After reading this - http://www.curbed.com/archives/2005/03/04/so_much_for_those_superior_views.php - I see now, its "all about" the smoke stackes.

(FROM CURBED) - This is from GVSHP regarding Superior Ink. "It is basically a call to arms. The Superior Ink factory is a beautiful building and it would be a shame to tear that gorgeous smoke stack down. It does seem that there is still hope." [said Mr. Berman]

[sfenn1117]

It is a nice building, too bad they could not build on top of it. It has to be a beautiful building to compete with the Meier towers, I've never seen them in person before, they are fantastic!

http://i2.tinypic.com/qq97hh.jpg

[krulltime]

Board 2 approves Related's design changes at Superior Ink project


http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1167110468_suprink2.jpg


24-DEC-06

Community Board 2 voted unanimously on Thursday to approve revised plans for the redevelopment of the former Superior Ink plant at 469 West Street and 70 Bethune Street, just to the north of Westbeth in the Far West Village.

The developer is the Related Companies and Jerry Johnson of the law firm of Wachtel & Masyr LLP made the presentation of the new designs, shown in the photograph at the left, to the board.

Mr. Johnson said that the new plans have been designed by Robert A. M. Stern, who has worked on previous residential buildings for Related. Mr. Stern is the dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and a co-author of the monumental series on New York architecture and planning including “New York 1880,” “New York, 1900,” “New York, 1930,” “New York, 1960,” and the recently published “New York, 2000.”

Charles Gwathmey had designed the previous plans for this project. Mr. Gwathmey is the architect of the sinuous glass tower that Related recently completely at 445 Lafayette Street, which is known as One Astor Place.

In 2005, Related went to the Board of Standards & Appeals for a variance for a 20-story and three-story mixed-use project with a 6.5 F.A.R. for 469 West Street/70 Bethune Street on a lot zoned for manufacturing and a 5 floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.).

The project outraged preservationists who had desperately tried to save the old factory building and its 195-foot-tall smokestacks, urging the city to include the site in the West Village rezoning and historic district landmark districts. Community Board 2 voted against the project on the basis that all the findings necessary to obtain a variance had not been met and that its scale was out of context for the area.

In January 2006, Related modified the design and won a variance for a 15-story tower on West Street with a three-story townhouse row on Bethune Street, with a maximum height of 186 feet 9 inches, including a bulkhead on the tower roof, and setbacks of 10 feet on West Street and 15 feet on Bethune Street. (Three residential towers with mostly glass facades that were designed by Richard Meier a few blocks to the south on West Street have a height of 199 feet.)

The new design has more masonry than the previous design that employed a lot of glass. Apartments are smaller but the number has increased from 64 to 84 and commercial space on the ground floor of the tower has been eliminated and basements have been added to the townhouses that will now have different rather than similar facades.

Other changes include the addition of a pool, a lounge, a children’s playroom and gym and moving the car parking to the mezzanine level above the first floor.

The resolution of the board community board, which has long opposed replacing the former Nabisco factory built in 1919, noted that “the major change in the building is the exterior design, changing what had been designed as an industrial style building into what looks like a residential building, and making the townhouses independent of each other as they usually are on townhouse Village streets.”

Related had originally proposed a 270-foot-high, 23-story structure with residential condominiums for the site and that design was similar in its configuration to its development at 445 Lafayette Street.


Copyright © 1994-2006 CITY REALTY.COM INC.

[Derek2k3]

I for one thought more glass on the waterfront would've been great. Oh well, another missed opportunity.

Committee approves a new Superior Ink site design

The Villager
Volume 76, Number 30 | December 20 - 26, 2006
By Albert Amateau

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_190/committeeapprovesanew.html

The great “lost cause” of Village preservation advocates, the Superior Ink building on West and Bethune Sts., was found again last week when The Related Companies presented a redesign of the proposed residential project to the Community Board 2 Zoning Committee.

With a new designer, Robert A.M. Stern, noted for designing buildings that harmonize with their neighborhoods, replacing Charles Gwathmey, an architect known for uncompromising individuality, The Related Companies received unanimous approval on Dec.14 from the Zoning Committee of a community board that has long opposed replacing the former Nabisco factory built in 1919.

“I got a phone call from Steve Ross [chairman and C.E.O. of Related] after the meeting asking how we voted, and when I told him we approved unanimously, he said, ‘It’s the first time I ever got unanimous approval from a community board for any project,’” said Doris Diether, chairperson of the committee. “We liked the new design much better than the one that passed the B.S.A. [Board of Standards and Appeals] in January,” Diether explained.

Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, also was more positive about the new design than the previous one.

“It’s a move in the right direction, but the project is too big and we still believe that the old Superior Ink should have been saved with re-adaptive uses,” Berman said.

The change in the new design is mostly visual. The 15-story tower on West St. now has more masonry instead of the stark, glass facade and the elevation is more rectangular. The residential units are smaller and have increased from 64 to 84. Commercial use on the tower’s ground floor has been eliminated. A basement will be added to the proposed townhouses, which will be independent of each other, instead of linked. But the floor-area ratio, or F.A.R., of the project will remain at 5.

The new design “changes what had been designed as an industrial-style building into what looks like a residential building,” was the way the committee resolution put it. The unanimous approval is a good indication that the full board will also approve the revised project

In 2005, Related went to the B.S.A. for a variance for a 20-story and three-story mixed-use project with a 6.5 F.A.R. for 469 West St./70 Bethune St. across from the Westbeth artists’ residence on a lot zoned for manufacturing and a 5 F.A.R. The project outraged preservationists who had desperately tried to save the old factory building and its 195-foot-tall smokestacks, urging the city to include the site in the West Village rezoning and historic district landmark districts. Community Board 2 voted against the project.

In January 2006, Related modified the design and won a B.S.A. variance for a 15-story tower on West St. with a three-story townhouse row on Bethune St., with a maximum height of 186 feet 9 inches, including a bulkhead on the tower roof, and setbacks of 10 feet on West St. and 15 feet on Bethune.

The new design changes were submitted to the B.S.A. in October, and the community board review, which is strictly advisory, is part of the variance process.

The actual changes to the variance — which include the setbacks — “are minor and actually improve the project,” said the committee’s recommendation to the full board.

[sfenn1117]

I would also prefer glass on the waterfront, but at least it's Stern, so it will still be an attractive building. The townhouse row should be nice as well.

[Stern]

It'll be like his buildings in Battery Park City, enitrely forgettable.

[antinimby]

Community groups run amuck.

What irks me most is that they're now against retail.

...and commercial space on the ground floor of the tower has been eliminated...

All of a sudden, retail is now a bad thing.

[stache]

Unfortunately it tends to bring double parking etc.

[antinimby]

Well...then we must forbid everything that can even remotely make citylife inconveniencing, shouldn't we?

This city needs to be thinned out.

One person per square mile!

No more crowds or traffic. Lots of open space and air for every man, woman and child.

Give me a break.

[bigkdc]

Unfortunately it tends to bring double parking etc.

that's really the main reason why they don't want retail? That seems awfully picky. Also seems off if the entrance to that retail will be on west st. Why would they care? It is basically a highway there

[ZippyTheChimp]

Demo
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7606/superiorink01cbi8.th.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink01cbi8.jpg)

[lofter1]

From curbed (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/12/27/superior_ink_update_stern_awakening.php) (a couple of months back) ...

http://www.curbed.com/2006_12_sternink.jpg


We've been on a desperate search for renderings of the residential development that's going to rise where the Superior Ink building in the far West Village is coming down (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/11/17/curbedwire_stern_stables_jade_bares_it_all.php). Lo, a Christmastime miracle! Via this photo, taken at a Community Board 2 meeting last week, we score our first glimpse at the Robert A. M. Stern-designed 15-story building (left) and its accompanying three-story townhouse row on Bethune Street (right). More details, per City Realty: The new design has more masonry than the previous design that employed a lot of glass. Apartments are smaller but the number has increased from 64 to 84 and commercial space on the ground floor of the tower has been eliminated and basements have been added to the townhouses that will now have different rather than similar facades.Glass out, masonry in? That's a trend for 2007 we can live with. Too bad the design here is dull as used sandpaper. Regardless, this baby's a go: CB2 unanimously approved Stern's design last Thursday.

[bigkdc]

Anyone have an update on this development and when they will start selling?

[sfenn1117]

New renderings from the buildings website:

http://i9.tinypic.com/4zkrxur.jpg

Not really digging these townhouses:
http://i17.tinypic.com/4koh0qu.jpg

Curbed coverage:
http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/06/22/superior_ink_condos_revealed.php

[londonlawyer]

I think that the tower is ok. Stern has done MUCH better work, but I really like the townhouses.

[bigkdc]

The site actually has prices....$10M+ for the townhouses. I really hope they get the layouts right on this one

The views from the rooftops of the townhouses will be sweet.

[lofter1]

Views from roof of the townhouses won't be all that sweet -- WestBeth is just across the street and rises to the same height as the new Superior tower (15 - 16 stories) so the view corridor will be fairly narrow to the west. Sunlight on the front of these townhouses as shown in the rendering will only occur the last hour or two before sunset -- and in winter might not reach those south-facing doors / windows at all.

The rendering of the tower looks a bit like the Trump Riverside stuff -- but at the prices mentioned and with Stern's prior record no doubt the materials and detailing will be far superior ( :rolleyes: ) to anything Trump does.

All in all it's very staid and staunch -- and what we expect from Stern.

I personally prefer the smaller brick building just to the north -- it went up as a brand new development about 10 years ago and contains some very choice residential units, but it looks like an older industrial building that went through adaptive re-use. Perfect fit for this stretch.

[Fabrizio]

Better than a lot of stuff but...

I find the townhouses nice but a little odd. Aren't far West Village townhouses much more simple?

The big building doesn't quite pull it off. It's nostalgia but nostalgia for exactly what? (side-street level nice though).

[lofter1]

Here's the north side of WestBeth (http://www.railroad.net/articles/railfanning/westside/index.php) along Bethune Street that those
townhouses will look up to (showing it back in the day when
the High Line still ran through the eastern end) ...

http://www.railroad.net/articles/railfanning/westside/media/jwsi6a.jpg

[krulltime]

I think the whole thing looks good.

[lofter1]

Related releases Robert A. M. Stern's
Superior Ink design

CityRealty (http://www.cityrealty.com/new_developments/)
june 22, 2007

The Related Companies has released two new renderings of its large residential project on the former site of the Superior Ink Company at 469 West Street, which is also known as 70 Bethune Street, in the West Village.

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1182540054_superiorc.jpg

Related had originally proposed a 270-foot-high, 23-story structure with residential condominiums for the site and that design was similar in its configuration to its development at 445 Lafayette Street designed by Gwathmey Siegel.

In 2005, Related went to the Board of Standards & Appeals for a variance for a 20-story and three-story mixed-use project with a 6.5 F.A.R. for 469 West Street/70 Bethune Street on a lot zoned for manufacturing and a 5 floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.). Gwathmey Siegel & Associates was the architect for the project.

The project outraged preservationists who had desperately tried to save the old factory building and its 195-foot-tall smokestacks, urging the city to include the site in the West Village rezoning and historic district landmark districts. Community Board 2 voted against the project on the basis that all the findings necessary to obtain a variance had not been met and that its scale was out of context for the area.

In January 2006, Related modified the design and won a variance, which was amended in January 2007, for a 15-story tower on West Street with a three-story townhouse row on Bethune Street, with a maximum height of 186 feet 9 inches, including a bulkhead on the tower roof, and setbacks of 10 feet on West Street and 15 feet on Bethune Street. (Three residential towers with mostly glass facades that were designed by Richard Meier a few blocks to the south on West Street have a height of 199 feet.)

The Related project is known now as Superior Ink Condominiums and Townhouses and the site is just to the north of Westbeth.

The new plans were designed by Robert A. M. Stern, who has worked on previous residential buildings for Related. Mr. Stern is the dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and a co-author of the monumental series on New York architecture and planning including "New York 1880," "New York, 1900," "New York, 1930," "New York, 1960," and the recently published "New York, 2000."

The new design has more masonry than the previous design that employed a lot of glass and it made the townhouses "independent of each other."

Apartments are smaller but the number has increased from 64 to 84 and commercial space on the ground floor of the tower has been eliminated and basements have been added to the townhouses that will now have different rather than similar facades.

On West Street, the development will have a three-story base with arched windows on the third floor and another setback on the fifth floor where the windows will be arched and a tower with arched corner windows topped by a setback 15th floor. One of the new renderings indicates that the red-brick townhouses will have 12-paned windows and some of them have two-stories of bay windows and some have stoops.

Copyright © 1994-2007 CITY REALTY.COM INC.

[sfenn1117]

I find the townhouses nice but a little odd. Aren't far West Village townhouses much more simple?

The big building doesn't quite pull it off. It's nostalgia but nostalgia for exactly what? (side-street level nice though).

Sums up my thoughts. The townhouses don't relate well to that area at all, and the tower is underwhelming. The composite works though so it's a decent development.

[bigkdc]

Views from roof of the townhouses won't be all that sweet -- WestBeth is just across the street and rises to the same height as the new Superior tower (15 - 16 stories) so the view corridor will be fairly narrow to the west. Sunlight on the front of these townhouses as shown in the rendering will only occur the last hour or two before sunset -- and in winter might not reach those south-facing doors / windows at all.



oh well - i guess i will have to just save my $10MM then! lol - I had not thought that through...

From the looks of the pics, these will be smaller than your normal townhouse. Looks like 4 floors including a half underground first floor. At 24-29 feet wide though they will feel decently sized. Shocking that an elevator is needed for a 3 floor house - no wonder we have an obesity problem here.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Crane is up at Superior Ink

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3018/superiorink04cuk6.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink04cuk6.jpg) http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/8214/superiorink05cvs5.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink05cvs5.jpg) http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2403/superiorink06cya4.th.jpg (http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink06cya4.jpg)


Across the street, Christian de Portzamparc's 385 W12th.

Asbestos abatement completed on the green building.
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/1129/385w1201cip7.th.jpg (http://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=385w1201cip7.jpg)

What happened to the townhouses?
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/7205/385w1202ccp1.th.jpg (http://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=385w1202ccp1.jpg)

[lofter1]

That 2-story green building ^ on the corner of West Street / W. 12th [ 489 West / 399 W. 12th ] was one of many properties held by William Gottleib (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=183444&postcount=81) in the far west Village (Owner listed at DOB was Gottleib's sister, recently deceased: "Mollie Bender (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=175867&postcount=80), Executrix" ).

A look through DOB / DOF documents indicates that it is NOT a part of the development going up at 393 - 397 W. 12th (at least so far).

399 W. 12th housed a very happening restaurant back in the mid-80's, serving up some type of food and lots of liquor. My tequila besodden and somewhat dim memory believes (and is backed up by a 1987 news article) that it was called Gulf Coast (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_v21/ai_4756006) ...


... Gulf Coast is a popular Text-Mex restaurant on the corner of West 12th and West streets that recently opened an upstairs room to accommodate its nightly crowds.

[BrooklynRider]

Yes, Gulf Coast had a really nice and eye-catching neon sign. Talk about "back in the day."

[ZippyTheChimp]

The Gulf sign makes an appearance.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7871/superiorink08cay0.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink08cay0.jpg)

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7729/superiorink07czu8.th.jpg (http://img169.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink07czu8.jpg)

[lofter1]

The Gulf sign makes an appearance.

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7871/superiorink08cay0.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink08cay0.jpg)


You beat me to it ;)

[BrooklynRider]

This is where it is today...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/1223.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/1224.jpg

[ZippyTheChimp]

Saturday, March 15

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/6716/superiorink09cyg9.th.jpg (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink09cyg9.jpg) http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1985/superiorink10cag0.th.jpg (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink10cag0.jpg)

[krulltime]

This one is probably going to look very nice. I sure hope so.

[BrooklynRider]

Progress photos...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/1321.jpg

[RandySavage]

And from across the Hudson:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2297/2352698073_a3511cb2a6_o.jpg

[Skylimitone]

Whats under construction behind this building along W 12th?

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
385 W 12th, Christian de Portzamparc.

Facade going up at Superior Ink.

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7623/superiorink11cpr5.th.jpg (http://img169.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink11cpr5.jpg) http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5872/superiorink12cwt8.th.jpg (http://img169.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink12cwt8.jpg)

[avngingandbright]

I'm speechless. Really nice. Beautiful artistry.

[ZippyTheChimp]

385 W 12th

What's up with all the wall studs?

Can't locate a rendering.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2479/385w1203cfh0.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=385w1203cfh0.jpg) http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8518/385w1204cnk4.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=385w1204cnk4.jpg) http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/4769/385w1205ctw1.th.jpg (http://img118.imageshack.us/my.php?image=385w1205ctw1.jpg) http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/8314/385w1206cii1.th.jpg (http://img118.imageshack.us/my.php?image=385w1206cii1.jpg)

[lofter1]

Studs for attaching all the copper panels?

CURBED (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/02/15/development_du_jour_385_west_12th_street.php) (of course ;) ) has info on 385 West 12th ...

Development Du Jour: 385 West 12th Street

Friday, February 15, 2008
by Joey

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2205/2267244242_147ed9f97a_o.jpg

Location: 385 West 12th Street btwn Washington/West Streets
Size: Seven stories, 12 units
Prices: $5.795 million to $13.5 million
Architect: FLAnk (http://www.flankonline.com/)
Developer: FLAnk
Sales & Marketing: Brown Harris Stevens

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2170/2266455087_d4c1ca73d0_o.jpg

Lowdown: It's gotten to the point where any new FLAnk announcement
should be heralded with trumpets and the release of doves, but this reveal
is especially exciting. The slightly-controversial (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/12/07/will_colorchanging_copper_threaten_the_west_villag e.php) 12-unit building springing
up in Superior Ink's backyard is an absolute blockbuster, with a façade of
"modulating copper panels" that will slowly change to a pale blue-green
over the years. Because the façade is tricky, FLAnk is working with the
same design consultants they partnered up with on the totally
crazy/awesome 441 East 57th Street (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/24/if_tina_brown_is_reading_now_is_the_time_to_look_a way.php). The building will have a two-tier
rooftop space with a 50’ lap pool, hot tub/spa and outdoor shower up top
(not to mention panoramic Hudson River views) and a dining area /
entertaining space and "meditation deck" below. The units are broken
up as "four town homes, six full floor flats and two duplex penthouses,"
and they range in size from 2,526 square feet to 4,382 square feet, with
ceiling heights of 10' to 18'. All the bells and whistles—doorman,
concierge, luxury finishes, crazy home automation systems—are also
accounted for. Now, FLAnk is known to wine and dine (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/12/06/your_morning_credit_crunch_everything_is_fine.php) its potential
customers, and the strategy is working: seven units have already sold.
FLAnk has done it again, folks.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2051/2266455127_3d5a69c247_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2411/2266455161_68574777d1_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2252/2267244422_0101e9bd67_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2211/2267244288_3e306505b6_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2144/2267244406_59d6eddfaa_o.jpg

385 West 12th Street
385 West 12th Street, Far West Village

Boutique, Superluxury, Copper Plating

website (http://www.385west12th.com/), listings (http://www.brownharrisstevens.com/agent.aspx?id=IXM#listings)

You'd normally see a map here, but your browser doesn't support iframes.

[lofter1]

Right next door to 385 W 12th is another new project on the same block, butcloser to the river.

A report from CURBED (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/20/introducing_397_west_12th_street_if_you_can_find_i t.php?o=5) on 397 West 12th Street ...

Introducing 397 West 12th Street, If You Can Find It

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
by Joey

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3219/2508775534_c0545e5743_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3157/2509037952_802a38a5c1_o.png

Over in the Far West Village, the block of West 12th Street between the
West Side Highway and Washington Street has become one huge
construction site. With Robert A.M. Stern's classy Superior Ink (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/02/11/construction_watch_superior_ink_not_invisible.php) and
FLAnk's metallic 385 West 12th Street (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/02/15/development_du_jour_385_west_12th_street.php) hogging the headlines, the well-
advanced construction site at 397 West 12th Street has flown
completely under our radar. No longer! Feast your eyes on what may turn
out to be the biggest blockbuster on the block— a 10-story, five-unit
building from architect and developer Cary Tamarkin (http://www.tamarkinco.com/). Yes, only five units.
The website (http://397w12.com/) for the mini-development recently went live, and according to
Triple Mint (http://www.triplemint.com/triplemint/397-west-12th-street.html), 397 West 12th Street will have a 6,600-square-foot
quadruplex penthouse with 3,000 square feet of outdoor space, and
prices ranging from $5.5 million to $14 million. If that doesn't spin your
bowtie, we don't know what will.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3114/2508209983_ff7af20722_o.png

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2045/2508209929_612ae4479f_o.png

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3287/2507942655_d57bc5a228_o.jpg
There she is, with FLAnk's 385 West 12th in the distance.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2404/2507944867_26e06f6aaa_o.jpg
The back of the building.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3104/2508770548_c3c8838f6f_o.jpg
From Superior Ink's corner, looking east at 397 West 12th Street.

· 397 West 12th Street (http://397w12.com/) [397w12.com]
· 397 West 12th Street (http://www.triplemint.com/triplemint/397-west-12th-street.html) [Triple Mint]

[Skylimitone]

Thank you very much Lofter. I've been trying to find out the name of this project for some time now.

[lofter1]

Luckily the search function at CURBED (http://curbed.com/search.php?blogs=1%2C4%2C9&query=12th+397) is very user-friendly.

(but the new way they have of presenting photos as thumbnails
makes it a pain in the butt to re-post entire articles :mad: )

[antinimby]

397 is boring.

DOB only shows a demolition permit for the Gulf Coast building (489 West St.) but nothing else.

[lofter1]

The Wreck Next Door Gets Eulogized, Refuses To Be Sold

CURBED (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/06/the_wreck_next_door_gets_eulogized_refuses_to_be_s old.php#more)
Friday, June 6, 2008
by Joey

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_6_gulfcoast.jpg
[Photo: Will Femia (http://testofwill.blogspot.com/)]

We really can't get enough of 489 West Street, the crumbling former Gulf
Coast restaurant that is surrounded on all sides (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/21/the_curious_case_of_the_wreck_next_door.php?o=0) by the new, high-end Far
West Village. Owned by the reclusive Gottliebs, who control a lot of land
in the area, the two-story time capsule has been especially troublesome
for architect/developer Cary Tamarkin, who built the building next to it,
and is now constructing a lovely new boutique condo building (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/20/introducing_397_west_12th_street_if_you_can_find_i t.php) right behind
it at 397 West 12th Street (note how the Gulf Coast has been replaced by
trees in the rendering). Tamarkin really wanted to get his hands on the
building, but the Gottliebs are the Gottliebs, so in the end he had to alter
the design of 397 West 12th Street and hope for the best.

Here's an excerpt from a Real Deal (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/tamarkin-sees-upside-in-down-market) interview with Tamarkin:
Your 12th Street building is adjacent to the Gottlieb
parcel, where a Department of Buildings permit for a
demolition originally issued in 2005 was renewed on May
13. What steps have you taken with the neighboring
property?

It is falling down. I assumed and thought it had been
condemned and they had started dismantling it ... but there
has been no action. I offered to buy it, I built my foundation
away from it and I monitored it ... but Gottlieb is very difficult
to get on the phone. I also offered to net-lease it from them
for 99 years. The offers were submitted by mail but I did not
get any response.


Do you expect something to be built there? Is that is why
your building was designed with no windows facing the
parcel?

I have designed the building with the idea that someday
something will be there.
Meanwhile, blog Hunter-Gatherer (http://huntergatherernyc.com/2008/06/gulf-coast-beneath-the-rubble/) is feeling nostalgic for the old Gulf Coast,
and speaks with a former waiter at the '80s hot spot about the
restaurant's history:
The era and environment was a key reason why the Gulf
Coast became such a fab and Felliniesque combo platter
of workers and clientele. Bikers sat with rock stars and
promoters from any band that came to play at the Lone Star
Cafe or Tramps. These 80’s era clubs promoted the
Manhattan/Delta vibe that was so prevalent at N’Awlins
JazzFest at the time as well as well as late 80’s Manhattan. In
general, Gulf Coast morphed as did the neighborhood. Into
yuppies from the upper West Side and into expensive studios
as the gay clubs and hookers left.
· Tamarkin sees upside in down market (http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/tamarkin-sees-upside-in-down-market) [TRD]
· Gulf Coast: Beneath The Rubble (http://huntergatherernyc.com/2008/06/gulf-coast-beneath-the-rubble/) [Hunter-Gatherer]
· The Curious Case of the Wreck Next Door (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/21/the_curious_case_of_the_wreck_next_door.php?o=0) [Curbed]

[Derek2k3]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/2606509476_2626ebf377_o.jpg

[pianoman11686]

This development will only further cement the area's reputation as New York's new Gold Coast.

[NYC4Life]

This development will only further cement the area's reputation as New York's new Gold Coast.

If it were only possible to add a beach along the Hudson next to these rising buildings.

[lofter1]

Possible? It's in some of the plans (ill advised, IMHO, due to flotsam & jetsam found all along the south sside of Gansevoort) for

Hudson River Park (http://www.thevillager.com/villager_189/bigwheelkeeponturning.html) ...


Addressing the mayor and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Pataki said of the joint park project, “It’s been a city-state partnership from the beginning.”

Voicing his oft-repeated refrain, the governor said, “I know that someday I am going to be putting my toe in the Hudson River sandy beach at the Gansevoort Peninsula. Just keep going , because I am going to be haunting the shores of the Gansevoort Peninsula, waiting for my day.”

[B]Plans for Gansevoort do, in fact, call for a sandy beach on the peninsula’s south side, but the peninsula can’t be developed as a park until the city removes its Sanitation truck garage.

[scumonkey]

Walked by the ink plant with my dog tonight....
they have already started installing the windows!

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/4401/superiorink13ctr4.th.jpg (http://img391.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink13ctr4.jpg) http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8428/superiorink14ctl3.th.jpg (http://img184.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink14ctl3.jpg) http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/4317/superiorink15cho6.th.jpg (http://img184.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink15cho6.jpg)

[ramvid01]

Thanks for the picures Zip!

Look at that beautiful brickwork. If only other brick buildings going up had this type of brick work. Make things look much better.

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2177/superiorink16czs8.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink16czs8.jpg)

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9531/superiorink17ccz9.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=superiorink17ccz9.jpg)

[scumonkey]

Someone get out to da ink with a camera quick!
Rode by on my bike this morning (sans camera),
and noticed they have begun putting glass up
on the towers front face.....and I didn't like what I saw at all :eek:
In between units they are running these long, white, plastic looking segments
(between the windows instead of brick), that were not in the renderings- can you say vomit-
please tell me it's not what it appears to be?!?!:o

[lofter1]

How dare you ^ venture out without a camera!

Meanwhile, a great story http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif from across the street at Westbest ...

Down a Tall Chimney, and Out of It Alive

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/08/02/nyregion/chimney190.jpg
Grace Bergere

NEW YORK TIMES (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/nyregion/02fall.html?ref=nyregion)
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
August 2, 2008

The emergency call came in late on Thursday, a brief but urgent message from a building in the West Village: “Female fell down air shaft.”

Firefighters raced to the Westbeth building, a rambling artists’ complex on West Street. They were told the victim had fallen about 180 feet down a chimney.

And so they braced for the worst when they went to open a small steel door at the bottom of the chimney. But when Lt. Simon Ressner poked his fingers through a crack in the door, a small hand popped out from the other side.

“I just jumped back,” Lieutenant Ressner said at a news briefing on Friday. “I wasn’t expecting anybody alive at the bottom of the shaft, so I was shocked.”

When firefighters broke open the steel door, the blackened figure of a girl peered back at them from a deep mound of soot.

“She was completely black,” Lieutenant Ressner said. “The only part we could see was her eyes and her mouth.”

“I think she probably went down head first and landed on her back,” he added.

The girl, later identified by friends and neighbors as Grace Bergere, 12, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center. A hospital spokeswoman, Minerva Joubert, said Grace was in fair condition on Friday. A family friend who did not want to be identified but was asked to speak to a reporter on behalf of Grace’s father, Steve Berger, 52, a musician, said Grace had a dislocated hip and possible fractures.

“She is talking, she is smiling,” the family friend said in a telephone interview. “She fell in over her head into the soot, and she crawled her way up so she could breathe.”

The story had all the hallmarks of a tale of urban drama: a historic high-rise; a breathtaking fall; an injured child curled up in a bed of soot that had cushioned her fall; and hardened rescuers who can still be shocked by the resilience of life.

Lieutenant Ressner and others told the story of the rescue, reported in The New York Post on Friday, at their firehouse in Chelsea. Like other firehouses in New York City, the home to Engine Company 3 and Ladder 12 is adorned with memorials to their comrades killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

But as Grace’s ordeal showed, there is still the potential for tales of survival that surprise firefighters accustomed to the worst.

“I have had people fall from the third floor that were fatally injured,” Lieutenant Ressner said.

“I think she was in shock,” he added. “I think she didn’t actually realize how lucky she was.”

The emergency call came in about 10:30 p.m. When Lieutenant Ressner’s unit reached the building, home to an artists’ community on the site of the former Bell Telephone Laboratories, they went into a service entrance on Bethune Street, then tried to locate which of the building’s several chimneys she fell through.

The chimney rises about 13 stories to the roof and then about two dozen feet above it, with a ladder to the opening of about five square feet, Lieutenant Ressner said. Grace, who was on the roof with a teenage cousin, climbed the ladder, Mr. Berger said in a telephone interview, then apparently fell in.

Mr. Berger said Grace told him that after she fell, she thought she had died. She experienced a fade-out when she hit bottom, “like in a movie,” Mr. Berger said, “snowy white to black.”

“She felt a surge, then she heard me screaming her name,” said Mr. Berger, who first went up to the roof but then was brought down to the base of the chimney, where the firefighters were.

Lieutenant Ressner said he did not think there were any features inside the brick chimney to slow Grace’s fall to the bottom, which was carpeted with several feet of ash and soot. “I don’t think anything broke her fall because we did not find her with any scrapes,” he said.

A superintendent helped the firefighters locate the door at the chimney’s base. When it was opened, the first person Grace spoke to was Firefighter John Taliercio. “She was sitting down with her knees up,” he said. “She was sitting there like waiting for us. The first thing she said to me was, ‘I broke my leg.’ ”

“We did not expect to see anything living in there,” said Firefighter David Wisniewski, who was next to Firefighter Taliercio at the rescue scene. “We just saw a black figure in there covered in soot.”

They washed her mouth and nose, gave her oxygen and put a neck brace on her.

“I told her, ‘You are going to be all right,’ ” Firefighter Taliercio said. “ ‘We are going to get you safe.’ ”

Al Baker, Jason Grant and Mathew R. Warren contributed reporting.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

***

Perhaps young Ms. Bergere's athleticism (http://www.thevillager.com/villager_196/ingirlsbasketballleague.html) helped to give her "breath taking" fall
a far more happy ending than would have been expected ...

***

Pics of the Chimneys at Westbeth >>>

From MrJumbo’s New York (http://www.mrjumbo.com/contents/new_york/westvill.html):


http://www.mrjumbo.com/contents/new_york/pix/westvill/watchtower.jpg
This little watchtower (really a chimney, I think)
sits on a high corner of Westbeth, the artists colony
in a converted warehouse at the corner of the
West Street and Bethune.

http://www.mrjumbo.com/contents/new_york/pix/westvill/westbeth.jpg
Two towers and a bridge at Westbeth.

***

A cut-off view of the chimney towers from the olden days:

http://sbiii.com/boxpix/westbeth.jpg
S. Berliner, III (http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/index.html)

And more recently:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2001/2064482759_b4b3ed44bc.jpg?v=0
http://flickr.com/photos/jpater/2064482759/ (http://flickr.com/photos/jpater/2064482759/)

[scumonkey]

After being scolded I dredged back over to the ink
WITH a camera.....I still don't like the direction
this building is now headed in :mad:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/north.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/face.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/left.jpg

[lofter1]

Any bet on the color of horizontal coverings over the floor plates?

[lofter1]

This rendering doesn't show-off the white verticals now seen ...

Hopefully both the white and the floorplates will be covered in panels
the same color as or similar to the window frames.

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1182540054_superiorc.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/scumonkey/left.jpg

[scumonkey]

I also think this glass is all wrong...should be more transparent.
I'll have to hold judgment until they do more work to
see the full effect but....I'm still not loving it like I used to.

[lofter1]

While we're at it --

I'm not crazy about the expanse of flatness that all these windows create http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif

Would have been better with some articulation.

Ends up being like a post-modern version of Westbeth.

Not a happy marriage :(

[RandySavage]

This one was looking good with its nice brick detail. Those windows are an awful shame.

[lofter1]

Bob's Superior Townhouses Bricking It Up On Bethune

CURBED (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/10/07/bobs_superior_townhouses_bricking_it_up_on_bethune .php)
October 7, 2008

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH1a.JPG
Superior townhouses for real (top) and as rendered (below).

Robert A.M. Stern's septet of Superior townhouses on Bethune Street, nestled
beneath the trees behind Related's Superior Ink pre-fab condo tower (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/06/superior_ink_made_in_china.php), are
getting their bricks on, not to mention their lintels, pediments and bay windows.
This row of uber-respectability (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/11/13/superior_inks_visions_of_grandeur_in_far_west_vill age.php) has been compared to something out of
Reston, Virginia (http://www.triplemint.com/triplemint/2007/09/superior-ink-co.html). With the mish-mash of neo-Georgian goodies we can see
where that's coming from. However Stepford could be the clearer connection.
But considering what might have been built (http://justinberzon.com/GwathmeyOnBethune.htm) on this site we'll cease with
the smart remarks.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH2.JPG
Seven super townhouses all in a row.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH3a.JPG
The eastern-most of the seven single family residences.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH4a.JPG
Nostalgia and simple respectability personified.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH5.JPG
Villas in the Village.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH6a.JPG
Is that a pre-fab bay window?

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH7a.JPG
The central entry exudes power.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH8.JPG
Bay windows on either side might compromise one's privacy.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH9a.JPG
Trees out front will help.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH10.JPG
The traditional interior option from RAMSA.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH11.JPG
For a more contemporary look the answer is Yabu Pushelberg.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH12.JPG
Superior Ink as seem from Hudson River Park.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_09_BobSuperTH13.JPG
Doubtful that it will ever look this good.

· Superior Ink's Visions of Grandeur in Far West Village (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/11/13/superior_inks_visions_of_grandeur_in_far_west_vill age.php) [Curbed]
· Superior Ink: Made in China? (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/06/superior_ink_made_in_china.php) [Curbed]
· Gwathmey on Bethune (http://justinberzon.com/GwathmeyOnBethune.htm) [justinberzon.com]

RAMSA 70 Bethune