The owners of the little one-story building on the rowdy but not so ritzy corner of West Broadway and Grand Street in Soho had big plans for the property: A new 11-story building with a restaurant at street level and offices up above. To make that vision for 330 West Broadway happen they cobbled together some adjacent lots, hired architect Morris Adjmi and girded for battle to get the needed variance to build 55% bulkier than zoning allows. They claimed the hardships of the site, including frequent flooding in the area, should give them some leeway. But commandos from Community Board 2 and the Soho Alliance thwarted their application. Now they've opted for another plan!
According to the paperwork, the new mission is to convert the existing building to commercial retail use, and add a mezzanine to boot. Plywood went up around the site last week and a crew has started to gut the place. Morris Adjmi is still on board, but he won't have the chance to wow us here with his modern take on old time New York like he's done elsewhere around town. It could be that the Adjmi idea for 330 West Broadway has disappeared for good; we've seen nary a peek of the plan. As a concession we show another project floated for this corner a while back. It's from the busy gang at Rogers Marvel Architects (but no longer visible on their website): A six-story chunk of glass with a bright red core. That one never made it beyond the design studio. These days its better to be downsized than dead.
· Soho high-rise D.O.A. [The Villager]
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