Here's something you don't see every day: Perry Finkelman, developer of Park Union, a new 15-unit condo conversion in Park Slope, is going to lobby the city to have his building included in the Park Slope Historic District. Finkelman could have torn down 910 Union Street, as the project's previous developers had planned, but instead he tacked five stories on top of the two-story building "in a similar architectural style." He also put an open portico over the front entrance (because it "felt right"), and had a dozen bronze medallions commissioned and affixed to the balconies (inspired by Art Deco buildings in the Bronx). "What I wanted was for the average person to look at it and think it was created during that historic time period," Finkelman said. (What historic time period? Doesn't matter. They're all good.) The landmarking would obviously be great for everyone involved, as the city would add a historic brand new condominium to its register of historic buildings, simultaneously "driving a real premium price" for the project's developers. A classic win-win. Needless to say, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has, you know, rules and stuff, and this isn't going to happen. One could make the case that it's nice to see a developer really taking pride in his work, kind of like when a little kid wants to submit his drawings to the Met, but Finkelman should probably just take a page out of the Naftali Group's book and bypass the Landmarks Commission altogether.
· Even a Developer Can Love a Landmark [NYT]
· Park Slope's 'Pre-War Inspired' Condos Hit the Market [Curbed]
Filed under:
Loading comments...