Meltzer/Mandl Architects designing conversion of 110-120 Church Street.

Meltzer/Mandl Architects, P.C. has been retained to design the conversion of 110-120 Church Street into approximately 400 rental apartments, according to Marvin H. Meltzer, AIA, and David Mandl, principals in the firm.

"While conversions from commercial to residential are no longer unusual Downtown, one aspect of this assignment is unprecedented, "notes Meltzer, principal-in-charge of the conversion. "This is the first such Downtown conversion in which two large existing curtain wall buildings are being merged into one. What's more, the two buildings were erected at different times."

While work at 110-120 Church began only recently, Meltzer/Mandl has completed work on 45 Wall Street, the first Downtown conversion of a commercial building into a residential one.

Erected in 1966, 110 Church contains 17 stories, with floorplates ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 square feet. By contrast, 120 Church Street (better known as the IRS building) was built in 1963 and has 22 stories and 20,000 square-foot floorplates.

Under development by Zar Realty Management Corporation, 110-120 Church Street will contain 22 stories and a total of 586,000 square feet. Occupancy is anticipated in the autumn of 1998.

As part of the project, Meltzer/Mandl used the New York City Department of Buildings' pilot program of Professional Certification. "This, along with P.C. filing, cuts down dramatically on the usual three-to-six month time frame for approvals," says Mandl. "Indeed, we anticipate that this new process will enable us to obtain all approvals within five days."

"The character of the completed building will be unique," says Meltzer. "By the nature of what is going on both inside and out, the conversions are something of a hybrid - a high-rise building with a grand lobby and luxury building amenities (doorman, security, fitness centers, business centers, state-of-the-art communications technology), but with loft-type apartment units usually associated with smaller, more industrial or warehouse kinds of buildings found in Soho or Tribeca."

According to Meltzer, the size of this conversion (almost two-thirds of a square block) will have significant impact on transforming the neighborhood and will, in effect, pull the boundary of residential Tribeca southward.

The conversion has also provided several unique design challenges and opportunities, says Meltzer. For example:

* Incorporating maximum light into the units offered by the existing glass curtain wall (which also provides superb New York City panoramic views);

* Using the large column bay widths to create unique non-traditional loft-like layouts that feel as if they are sculpted spaces;

* Recapturing spectacular rooftop space (formerly used for mechanical equipment), to create a large terrace/recreation area for use by all tenants, as well as designing a magnificent penthouse apartment;

* Bringing a human-scale residential design to the lower facade of the towering office building that recalls a smaller Tribeca building;

* Converting the cellar and sub-cellar into a parking garage.

Meltzer/Mandl Architects, P.C. has designed a host of projects in a wide variety of areas, ranging from residential to commercial, from non-profit to institutional. Among its more notable projects are 45 Wall Street, the Aurora, NYU Provincetown Playhouse, 224 East 52nd Street (which Meltzer also developed), 300 East 90th Street (which Mandl both designed and built), 100 West 81st Street, Isaiah House at 260 West 41st Street, and Melrose Court in the South Bronx.