{"id":15046,"date":"2025-10-24T15:23:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/15046\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T15:23:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:23:22","slug":"landmarks-preservation-commission-axes-proposal-to-gut-historic-duffield-street-homes-for-high-rise-tower-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/15046\/","title":{"rendered":"Landmarks Preservation Commission axes proposal to gut historic Duffield Street homes for high-rise tower \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

A row of four 19th-century landmarked houses on Downtown Brooklyn\u2019s Duffield Street will remain intact for now after the city\u2019s Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected plans to gut their interiors and alter their facades to accommodate a 33-story residential tower. The LPC directed the design team back to the drawing board.<\/p>\n

Developer Watermark Capital\u00a0had proposed<\/a>\u00a0combining the interiors of the historic homes, modifying an entrance, and partially reconstructing the roofs, interior walls, floors, and rear facades, while erecting the tower behind them. Architects Drew Hartley of Acheson Doyle Partners Architects and David West of Hill West told the commissioners\u00a0the plan<\/a>\u00a0would preserve the houses\u2019 character and offer adaptive reuse after years of vacancy and deterioration.<\/p>\n

But at Tuesday\u2019s hearing, commissioners and members of the public unanimously disagreed. While some commissioners supported the idea of a tower on the site, all objected to how it integrated with the landmarked houses and to the scale of alteration required.<\/p>\n

\"towerDevelopers hoped to gut the homes and combine them into a new residential tower.R endering by Hill West Architects and Acheson Doyle Partners Architects via LPC<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think as an existing property that has had the historic houses specifically protected and moved here to be saved, any solution here needs to celebrate those houses and work with them in the way that makes the proposal and the existing fabric a win-win. Unfortunately, that\u2019s not what I\u2019m seeing in this proposal,\u201d Commissioner Stephen Chu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe houses are diminished severely in scale with the proximity of the tall tower, there\u2019s so much demolition, it\u2019s hard to tell what is left of the fabric of those houses. The rear is being removed. The roof is being rebuilt to be fireproof. Many of the floors are being taken out\u2026party walls are being affected\u2026there\u2019s just too much and at the end, too little left of what was to be protected on the site.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four houses,\u00a0182 through 188 Duffield Street<\/a>, are rare survivors of a once-vibrant downtown residential community. Built between the 1830s and 1847, they were home to lawyers, teachers, builders, and merchants. Redevelopment beginning in the 1970s with Fulton Mall and continuing with MetroTech in the 1980s erased most low-rise homes in the area.<\/p>\n

Moved from Johnson Street<\/a>\u00a0in the 1990s and designated landmarks\u00a0in 2001<\/a>, the houses were owned by Forest City Ratner, which pledged to maintain them as part of its MetroTech development deal. In 2022, Watermark bought the site<\/a> through an LLC for $10 million. The broker said the buyer planned to preserve the houses and give them \u201cfunctional utility.\u201d Though once slated for offices and nonprofits, they have sat empty for decades.<\/p>\n

\"renderingA section of the proposed lobby. Rendering by Hill West Architects and Acheson Doyle Partners Architects via LPC \"duffieldThe homes in June 2025. Photo by Susan De Vries<\/p>\n

Hartley said the new residential building would rise directly behind the townhouses, which would be incorporated into the project. The entry would run through 188 Duffield St. into a triple-height lobby using the houses\u2019 rear facades as an interior wall. The ground floor of 188 would contain a cafe or small retail space, with an amenity area for residents above. The other three houses would form community and amenity spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we are restoring the facades and having this adaptive reuse to these buildings that really have been underused, and we\u2019re giving them life and giving them a use,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

However, the plan also calls for removing the porch at 188 Duffield for ADA compliance, replacing roofs and framing with noncombustible materials, removing party walls and parts of rear facades, and other major changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese townhouses were relocated here with the intent of being reused, either as houses or for other purposes,\u201d West told the commission. \u201cHowever, they\u2019ve remained virtually unused for over 30 years, their condition has deteriorated, and their original use of single family homes is no longer realistic in this dense, commercial residential neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"restorationThe proposed restoration of the homes. Rendering by Hill West Architects and Acheson Doyle Partners Architects via LPC<\/p>\n

He said the site was ideal for high-density housing, calling the proposal \u201ca balanced approach that achieves appropriate scale and density while preserving the essential character of the historic townhouses at street level. As with any project, there are trade-offs.\u201d<\/p>\n

West said the tower would rise 33-stories and 395 feet, set back 35 feet (encroaching over the landmarked roofs), with 99 apartments including 20 affordable units. The facade would feature warm buff brick, metal spandrels, and gray window slab covers.\u201cThe main front facade uses a two-story grid inspired by the verticality of the townhouse windows,\u201d he said, while \u201cthe setback portion features a flat hall with punched windows, referencing both the townhouses and the Ralph Walker building behind the site.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the pitch, the design team used four projects as precedents: the Robert and Anne Dickey House at\u00a067 Greenwich St.<\/a> in the Financial District, 315-317 Broadway in Tribeca, 44-54 9th Ave. n the Gansevoort Market Historic District, and 251-253 Fifth Ave. in NoMad. Both members of the public and commissioners took issue with the selection.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Michael Goldblum said none of the projects were relevant to the Duffield Street houses, adding \u201cthere\u2019s no question that the frontal reading of this proposed volume would completely overwhelm the historic buildings. I just don\u2019t see a way around it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"duffieldThe proposed tower, with the existing homes at center. The proposed east elevation. Rendering by Hill West Architects and Acheson Doyle Partners Architects via LPC<\/p>\n

When Goldblum asked why it was economically impractical to restore the houses for residential use, West replied, \u201cIf it worked, it would have been done.\u201d Goldblum called that answer \u201ccompletely unsatisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other commissioners said the landmarked houses should drive the design process and warned the tower would eat the rowhouses, stripping them of the qualities for which they were protected.\n<\/p>\n

Sixteen members of the public spoke on the proposal, all in opposition, including representatives from community and preservation groups. Peter Bray, co-chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Landmarks Coalition, said the plan belonged in Las Vegas, \u201cwhere everything is just a replica of history and there\u2019s nothing real or authentic to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow, in good conscience, can the LPC consider a project that would fundamentally alter the integrity of these buildings, making them a mere appendage of a 33-story tower, and robbing them completely of their original character and historical significance, they would just be a lobby to the building,\u201d Bray said.<\/p>\n

Chris Young of the Downtown Brooklyn Community Association said a\u00a0petition opposing the proposal<\/a>\u00a0had gathered more than 550 signatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current plan does not honor the history of these homes, nor the reason for which they were saved in the first place, to commemorate the vibrant, middle class neighborhood of Downtown Brooklyn and its rich historical importance of the development of 19th century Brooklyn,\u201d Young said. \u201cThere are more appropriate ways to restore and bring these houses, these historic landmarks, back to life. It needs a little more imagination than what we\u2019re seeing here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"proposedA rendering of the proposed lobby inside the gutted Duffield Street homes. Rendering by Hill West Architects and Acheson Doyle Partners Architects via LPC \"rearThe rear of the houses in 2019. Photo by Susan De Vries<\/p>\n

Other speakers emphasized that the houses represented not just architecture but the lives of working Brooklynites.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not just unused shells,\u201d Erin Hayes said. \u201cThey should be brought back to life again. To erase that history now by building this building would be an affront to the reason the buildings were saved in the first place and the history of these homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

William Vinicombe, former chair of CB2, recalled seeing the houses moved in the 1990s.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThese houses are directly tied to the story of Downtown Brooklyn, its working class roots, its historic connection to the important role of the abolitionist movement<\/a>, and its close proximity to the AME churches, the Duffield Street houses also reflect the lives of immigrants and working people who helped build New York City a living record of our city\u2019s social and economic evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alina Gonzalez, who lives with her family in the BellTel Lofts, called the proposal \u201can act of erasure.\u201d \u201cAllowing this project to move forward tells the community and the world that profit matters more than people, that height matters more than history, and that our cultural memory is expendable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"thumbnailsExisting historic interior details in the row of houses. Photos by Hill West Architects and Acheson Doyle Partners Architects via LPC<\/p>\n

Jeremy Woodoff, who worked for LPC during MetroTech\u2019s review, said the plan amounted to the demolition the houses had been protected from, \u201cwith no more than the false front of a Hollywood movie set remaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposal before you today is an audacious attack on preservation and environmental law, gutting the historic interiors, eliminating floors entirely, replacing the buildings behind their front facades, removing the stoop of 188, cantilevering over them, and altering the front and rear settings. None of this follows the Secretary of the Interior\u2019s Standards or good preservation practice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sherida Paulsen, who was LPC chair when the houses were designated, said the houses were intended to be restored and retained in full.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe project that they should be looking at as precedent is none of the ones that they referred to, but is the Harrison Street houses on the Lower West Side near the World Trade Center,\u201d she said. \u201cI think the commission should direct this applicant to rethink this entire proposal with the basis being to preserve the houses as originally intended, as the city, state and federal government intended.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"duffieldLPC Chair Angie Master said they would have to \u201crethink this proposal.\u201d Photo by Susan De Vries<\/p>\n

Representatives from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, Historic Districts Council, and Victorian Society also opposed the plan. HDC called it \u201cinappropriate in the extreme,\u201d and John Graham of the Victorian Society said it was \u201can appalling example of facadism work, which will reduce these four historic buildings to a decorative skin residents walk through on route to their elevators.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not believe that it\u2019s possible to build foundations for a 437 foot tower right next to buildings which are over 150 years old without damaging the landmarks. Nor do we believe it is good preservation practice to approve work which can endanger individual landmarks with the statement that they will be monitored by DOB,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Several speakers also questioned why the developer had been allowed to\u00a0let the houses fall into disrepair<\/a>\u00a0and challenged claims that restoring them as residences was unfeasible. LPC received 23 letters opposing the plan, and both Community Board 2 and the Brooklyn Heights Association called for its rejection.<\/p>\n

Closing the hearing, LPC Chair Angie Master said most commissioners were concerned with the level of historic fabric being removed, adding, \u201cI think we may have to go back and rethink this proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper\u2019s sister site Brownstoner<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A row of four 19th-century landmarked houses on Downtown Brooklyn\u2019s Duffield Street will remain intact for now after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[11042,11043,98,100,6766,99,1527,11044,2184,3076,11045,8316,11046,11047,11048,2907,11049,6167,11050,9,24,12,370,63,7215,3867,11051,11052,11053,11054,11055,11056],"class_list":["post-15046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-abolitionist-place","tag-alina-gonzalez","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-history","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-construction","tag-david-west","tag-development","tag-downtown-brooklyn","tag-drew-hartley","tag-duffield-street","tag-erin-haynes","tag-gut-renovation","tag-historic-landmark","tag-housing","tag-landmarked-homes","tag-landmarks-preservation-commission","tag-michael-goldblum","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-plan","tag-proposal","tag-reject","tag-rejection","tag-residential-tower","tag-stephen-chu","tag-watermark-capital","tag-william-vinicombe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}