540 Hudson Street Construction Progress

The six-story, 63’ tall undulating red brick façade, at the intersection of Hudson and Charles Streets in the West Village, is finishing up. New sidewalks were recently poured and opened to the public after years of being closed for construction.
The upper windows are grouped in sets of three, recalling the townhouse windows of the area, but with protruding metal outer frames, instead of inset frames. A prominent wavy cornice of corbeled brick, also mimicking historic townhouse cornices, tops off the two sides on the streets.
The upper floors have 19 rental units within 48,535 square feet, addressed as 111 Charles Street.
Work is still finishing up on the 6,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and cellar levels, including storefront windows announcing the opening of GoodVets veterinary services.
The building was originally designed by Morris Adjmi Architects for William Gottlieb Real Estate to receive approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2021. Gottlieb had owned the vacant lot for a former gas station and garage for many years. BKSK Architects developed the design as architects of record for developers Aurora Capital Associates. Titanium Construction Services is the general contractor.

Work on the Cohen Mansion at 145 Perry Street Continues

Way back in 2016, the one-story garages at 703-711 Washington Street, ca. 1937, were demolished for Mr. Steven A. Cohen’s mansion, addressed at 145 Perry Street, and a six-story familial condominium (reportedly meant for their grown children), addressed at 711 Washington Street.
This view of the corner looking northeast shows the outer tan brick façade of the mansion with distinctive openings in the brick screen ‘cut-outs’ with red terracotta wall tiling for tree planters at the corner terraces. The outer windows feature stepped planter boxes of bronze-hued metal. The ground floor has granite cladding at the base of the building above the new sidewalks recently opened to the public.
At the left, on the northern end of the building, a contrasting International Style façade of dark glass curtain wall defines the condo portion of the complex.
The structure measures 30,000 square feet, including an off-street garage. Only a few exterior finishing touches remain to be completed, such as the entry doors for the mansion as well as the condo section. Meanwhile, the interiors can be seen in an unfinished condition, awaiting interior design embellishments.
The street has been excavated to connect all the utilities to the new building, as seen on the right of the photo.
Architect Leroy Street Studio and Higgins Quasebarth + Partners Architects had their designs approved by LPC in February 2017. Sciame Construction is the construction manager for the property, with Silman Associates Structural Engineers.

Gansevoort Crossing Adds a Welcomed Bike Lane

The new Gansevoort Landing Plaza, reported in the November 2023 issue, just got the addition of a crosswalk, with full stoplight controls, as pictured looking west from the plaza. This crosswalk will serve as a primary connection from the Whitney Museum and other retailers on Gansevoort Street, directly to the new Gansevoort Recreation Park and Sand Bluff across busy West Street (aka 10th Avenue).
What is remarkable about this crosswalk that we haven’t seen in any of the other West Street crosswalks? It has a specially marked lane for bicycles, so that pedestrians and bikes