Above, the original, semi-mind-blowing design for 437 West 13th Street, an office tower slated to rise just north of the Standard Hotel, astride the High Line. Back in February, the developers, the Romanoff family, applied for a hardship zoning variance to build to this height—215 feet, in point of fact—asserting that building so close to the High Line would prevent them from taking full advantage of the site. Oh suurrre, said critics, who see the High Line as a developer's wet dream.
The Board of Standards and appeals will finally hear the variance case next month, and in advance of that, the Romanoffs have made a few tiny trims to the project: they'll cut the height a whopping 14 feet, down to 201 feet. The minuscule cantilever out over the High Line—see it there? That little ledge?—will be eliminated, as will a basement. Whether that'll be enough to get this baby approved, we'll find out next month.
· Meat Market Cut [The Villager]
· MePa Tower Builders Claim High Line is a Hardship [Curbed]
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