Last week's revelations from architecture firm Grzywinski + Pons only whetted our appetite for another morsel. A quick dig through the firm's website has unearthed something tasty, labeled simply as "Mercer Street." The plan include renders of a groovy glass penthouse terraced over Soho, inhabited by some very satisfied ghostly-type folks. One entire facade is actually a super-sized window, shown raised up on hinges with the sleek interior of the penthouse completely open to the terrace out front, where two ghosties nuzzle in the moonlight. We wanted more, but the address was not mentioned. G+P's rooftop project appeared to be a phantom.
Scouting the streets of Soho led to a match: 111 Mercer Street. It's an old cast-iron beauty, five floors of faded green paint, scratched columns and dust-encrusted windows. At street level nailed to the door is a "Retail Space for Rent" sign emblazoned with "Veracity Development," the same team from The Nolitan hotel, another G+P design. Mystery solved! But a search through DOB records revealed little, other than an application for a not-yet-approved gut rehabilitation. A-ha! We were back on track. Yet, reading further, the "Enlargement Proposed" box is marked "no." And there's nary a mention of the dreamy penthouse. Nor an inkling of Golden Pons.
The architect of record is Bernard Ocasio, another mysterious figure who is named on permits for G+P's Orchard Street hotel. What's more, now the link to the project has disappeared off the firm's website. The pretty pictures have vanished into air. The ghosts have slinked off to other projects. All that remains is a shadowy line of text on the projects page: 111 Mercer Street New York, NY. The mystery has become a mirage. See you next boom?
· Grzywinski + Pons [Official Site]
· Grzywinski + Pons coverage [Curbed]
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