At First Street, looking down towards 360 Smith Street
Steel delivery to 360 Smith Street construction site
A view of the site from 2nd Place
Cars backed up on Smith Street because of lane closure
Telescopic crane as seen from Second Place
The sky couldn't have been bluer on Monday, which made the huge yellow telescoping crane, which hovered over the 360 Smith Street/ 131 2nd Place construction site, look even more offensive. Slowly, ever so slowly, it hoisted huge steel beams over the blue plywood fence. All I could think of was that in the not too distant future, these steel bars would make up a 7 story building which would obscure the same sky which looked so open and wide at that very moment.
The "Oliver House", as it was once called, has been in the works for quite some time now. When Developer Robert Stein first presented his plans to the community, he was met with opposition. Many in Carroll Gardens felt that his building was too high and looked too modern for this brownstone neighborhood and no one seemed to like his architect, Robert Scarano, who as quite an unsavory reputation.
Stein eventually switched architects and had the plans (slightly) changed.
Construction at the 360 Smith Street/ 131 2nd Place started, but came to an abrupt halt in July 2008, when developer Bill Stein's "Oliver House" was slapped with a Stop Work Order immediately after the City Council passed the Carroll Gardens Wide Street Zoning Text Amendment, which limits permitted building height and density in Carroll Gardens.
Developer Stein promptly took his case in front of the Board of Standards and Appeals, that oh-so-contentious board that grants developers exemptions in cases such as this.
In order to be able to continue, Mr. Stein had to prove that a significant portion of the project's foundation had been completed before the Stop Work Order went into effect. Though inspectors from the NYC Department of Buildings determined that only 20% of the foundation had been completed, the BSA gave Stein what he wanted at a hearing in November 2008. The Stop Work Order was lifted. He was now free to proceed.
By September 2009, construction resumed. There have been some rumors that Bill Stein had sold the property to another developer, but he was just spotted with a large group of people, including his architect, in front of the site. So obviously, he is still involved.
Related Reading:
Boom, Boom...Construction Resumes At 360 Smith Street
The sky couldn't have been bluer on Monday, which made the huge yellow telescoping crane, which hovered over the 360 Smith Street/ 131 2nd Place construction site, look even more offensive. Slowly, ever so slowly, it hoisted huge steel beams over the blue plywood fence. All I could think of was that in the not too distant future, these steel bars would make up a 7 story building which would obscure the same sky which looked so open and wide at that very moment.
The "Oliver House", as it was once called, has been in the works for quite some time now. When Developer Robert Stein first presented his plans to the community, he was met with opposition. Many in Carroll Gardens felt that his building was too high and looked too modern for this brownstone neighborhood and no one seemed to like his architect, Robert Scarano, who as quite an unsavory reputation.
Stein eventually switched architects and had the plans (slightly) changed.
Construction at the 360 Smith Street/ 131 2nd Place started, but came to an abrupt halt in July 2008, when developer Bill Stein's "Oliver House" was slapped with a Stop Work Order immediately after the City Council passed the Carroll Gardens Wide Street Zoning Text Amendment, which limits permitted building height and density in Carroll Gardens.
Developer Stein promptly took his case in front of the Board of Standards and Appeals, that oh-so-contentious board that grants developers exemptions in cases such as this.
In order to be able to continue, Mr. Stein had to prove that a significant portion of the project's foundation had been completed before the Stop Work Order went into effect. Though inspectors from the NYC Department of Buildings determined that only 20% of the foundation had been completed, the BSA gave Stein what he wanted at a hearing in November 2008. The Stop Work Order was lifted. He was now free to proceed.
By September 2009, construction resumed. There have been some rumors that Bill Stein had sold the property to another developer, but he was just spotted with a large group of people, including his architect, in front of the site. So obviously, he is still involved.
Related Reading:
0 comments:
Post a Comment