$10m condo conversion underway at historic Brooklyn building.A ten-story landmark in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District Brooklyn Heights Historic District is a historic district that comprises much of Brooklyn Heights. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. is undergoing a conversion from an office property into upscale residential condominiums, announced Peter Bafitis, AIA, principal of RKT&B, the project's architect. The 50,000 s/f former Franklin Trust building, at 166 Montague Street, on the corner of Clinton Street, is in the heart of Brooklyn's legendary neighborhood and just a five-minute walk from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, with its breathtaking views of lower Manhattan across the East River. The goal of the $10 million project is to retain the distinctive character of the Romanesque-style structure, built in 1891 and described as a "gem" in the AIA Guide to New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . George L. Morse, who designed the building, used rusticated rus·ti·cate v. rus·ti·cat·ed, rus·ti·cat·ing, rus·ti·cates v.intr. To go to or live in the country. v.tr. 1. To send to the country. 2. granite for the base, Indiana limestone for the two-story arches, light brick and terra cotta for the body, and capped the building with a dormered, mansard roof mansard roof (măn`särd), type of roof, so named because it was frequently used by the French architect François Mansart. It was not devised by him but was used early in the 16th cent. of Spanish tile. "Because of its size, scale, fenestration fenestration /fen·es·tra·tion/ (fen?es-tra´shun) 1. the act of perforating or condition of being perforated. 2. and location, the building is very well suited to residential use," notes Bafitis. "We are not only keeping its architecturally significant elements intact, but are also using them as inspiration for the entire renovation." RKT&B is working with developer, United Management, and general contractor, NCC NCC See National Clearing Corporation (NCC). , on the conversion, which is scheduled for completion in June. The project encompasses a gut renovation, the creation of a rooftop terrace, the addition of a sky-lit health club, new west-facing balconies and windows, and a one-story glass addition on Clinton Street to house a new entrance. Residents will have panoramic views of Manhattan, the New York Harbor New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. This is sometimes construed in the sense "the Ports of New York and New Jersey". and Brooklyn, says Mr. Bafitis. Historic preservation and adaptive reuse are specialties of RKT&B. Recently, the firm won several prestigious awards for the conversion of 455 Central Park West, including the 2005 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy. |
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