The former Ridgewood Lodge No. 710, Free and Accepted Masons, better known as the Ridgewood Masonic Temple in Bushwick, Brooklyn, is one step closer to a rebirth. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved plans to modify the building at 1052 Bushwick Avenue (a.k.a. 1054 Bushwick Avenue), designated an individual landmark on July 22, 2014, for residential use.
RXR Realty is planning to convert the ground floor of the Starrett-Lehigh Building – a 20-story, 2.3-million square-foot office building at 601 West 26th Street, in West Chelsea – into 50,000 square feet of retail space. The building, built in 1931 and designed by Cory & Cory, is an individual landmark and sits within the West Chelsea Historic District, which means the Landmarks Preservation Commission must approve the plans. According to Crain’s, new retail will span the full length of Eleventh Avenue between West 26th and 27th Streets. Verizon previously occupied the ground and second floors of the property along Eleventh Avenue but agreed to relocate within the building. An architecture firm has not been selected, although construction is tentatively expected to begin next year.
A big change for a Lower Manhattan landmark is one step closer to becoming a reality. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved modifications to 1 Wall Street, paving the way for its conversion from bank headquarters to residential condominiums with ground-floor retail.
On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved construction of a new two-unit house at the corner of St. Felix Street and Hanson Place in the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District. The new construction at 147 St. Felix Street, a lot vacant since 1999, will rise three stories and will hopefully fare better than the site’s two previous occupants.
In March of 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved alterations that would go into converting the 16-story, 235,000 square-foot office building at 485 Seventh Avenue, at the corner of West 36th Street in the Garment District, into a boutique hotel. The property, an individual landmark, was completed in 1907 as the Mills Hotel No. 3, a male-exclusive, 1,885-unit single-room occupancy residential hotel. The Lightstone Group is planning to convert the property into a 618-key MOXY Hotel by Marriott, and Commercial Observer reports $330 million in financing was secured for the project. Retail space and a restaurant will be located each on the ground and second floors. Stonehill & Taylor Architects is the architect of record.
