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- Some Greenwich Village residents are worried that plans for 36-40 Gansevoort Street will mean sleepless nights. Fashion brand Theory (Angelina Jolie wears it!) is converting a five-story building into offices, complete with a rooftop garden, which conjured up Hotel Gansevoort nightmares for people living on Horatio Street. Theory has met with residents and Theory's president Andrew Rosen told the Times, "We're not a bar. We're a day business. Our only objective is to be a credible, positive influence in the community. We intend to be there for a long time, so our commitment to the neighborhood is significant." Or form a group of fashionistas who really want the Theory store in the neighborhood.
- Everyone deserves better design, at least that's what the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the AIA think. They have just announced a competition to find a great, potentially replicable, design with both housing and commercial space from a designer-developer team to be built on a city-owned site in the South Bronx. And then the 40,000 square foot site (plus 20,000 square feet in air rights over an adjacent railroad line) will be sold to the winning team for $1. The NY Times says that entries will be judged on "premium on design quality, affordability and factors like energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources."
You can download the RFP here; it's a two step process - first you need to send in qualifications, and then the city will select teams to submit proposals.
- The AP looks at how yet another neighborhood is at risk of disappearing, thanks to rising rents. The Flower District, that sliver above Chelsea, west of Koreatown, south of the Garment District, may have to move. While the Flower Market Association hasn't officially agreed on a move, it will probably be headed to Queens.
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Green Buildings can be just as affordable to build as normal buildings, but they can save tons of money on running costs, especially as oil, natural gas and electricity prices rise.
I would also highly recommend designing a building that had a little indoor common area for neighbors to meet and get to know each other a little bit better.
Glenn: Indoor common space? You mean like they hadin Pruitt-Igoe?
The competition sounds like a cool idea though, and it might spark interest in developers, since most of the green buildings in the city have been offices and not residences.
Common Space - Like a health club or game room or a room that can be reserved for parties. I lived in building in Stamford that had some common space and it was very pleasant to have a place to see and talk to your neighbors without having to leave the building or buy a cup of coffee just to leave. In good weather I meet my neighbors on my front stoop.