38 Apartments, 2 Townhouses
Planned in 5 Buildings;
Design Is Contextual,
Retains Character of Structures
By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — In its report of a Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approval last week (see Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Friday, Feb. 2), this newspaper was too quick to report that the owners of the Love Lane Garages in Brooklyn Heights did not wish to discuss the details of their conversion project.
Bob Esnard, project director of the Zucker Group, a partner with Sterling Equities in this development, was out of the office and just not available last Thursday when the calls were made.
Esnard told the Brooklyn Eagle yesterday that he is excited about this project, is quite willing to discuss it and hopes all the work involved “will be worth it.”
As was reported, the LPC on Jan. 23 approved the developers’ application for exterior alterations to the entrances and for rooftop additions that were smaller than originally proposed.
“Basically, the ruling was that you cannot see the rooftop additions from the street, either from Love Lane or College Place,” Esnard said, adding “that means the apartments on the roof will have 8-foot ceilings instead of 10.”
(The LPC did not ask them to modify the mockups they had constructed on the rooftops. These were scheduled to be removed Monday for safety reasons.)
To be called the Love Lane Mews (“yes, we’re romantic,” he said of the name), the garages are in five separate buildings: four on the west side of College Place — which are a mix of four- and five-story buildings to be joined together into one building —and one on the east side.
“Basically, we are creating a condominium development appropriate for that part of the Heights,” he said. “The market there is for large apartments, and that’s what we are planning.”
The Stephen Jacobs Group Architects and Planners, based in Manhattan, is designing the project.
Although the actual layouts are not done yet, he said 38 apartments are planned for the four buildings and two townhouses are planned for the building on the east side of the street.
The four buildings are very deep buildings, according to Esnard, and the plan is to cut a hole out in the center rear for a light well so the back units will have more light and air.
“And we’ll create a garden in that light well as well as a common rooftop space,” he said.
Underground parking is also planned. According to Esnard, the corner building at Love Lane has the biggest cellar, the building next to it has none, the third building has a cellar and the fourth has only half of one.
“So we’ll have to dig it all out. We believe we’ll get about 25 parking spaces under there,” he said, indicating that the parking entrance will be on Love Lane.
The two townhouses will be side-by-side and, where there are now three garage openings, there will be one center residential entrance and two private parking entrances — similar to others on that side of the street. They also have backyard space, according to Esnard.
Other issues center on the fact that these are very old buildings that have been altered a lot, according to Esnard, who explained that some were built for industrial use and others as carriage houses.
But the LPC has asked the developers, and they will comply, to read each as a separate entity, retaining the different colors of brick, the different window styles, arches, etc.
“Historically, we will match what was intended,” he said. “And we will do it as tastefully and as sensitively as we can.”
Herb Weber, an architect with the Stephen Jacobs Group, said the design “will be contextual, will enhance the great character of the buildings and will be a good fit with the neighborhood.”
The existing roll-up gates at each building will be filled in, and new entrances created for the two residential buildings. A planned canopy for one entrance was an issue, “so we took that away,” said Esnard.
It’s been an involved process for the developers who have not only been before the LPC several times, but also met with the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA) and with Community Board 2. CB 2 approved the project, the BHA did not, according to Esnard, citing the BHA’s objection to the loss of 400 parking spaces for the community.
“Economically, we just couldn’t keep the garage,” he maintained.
Asked about the need for environmental cleanup from gas pumps that were previously on the property, Esnard said they were there before Sterling became the owner, that testing has been done, Sterling has already done some cleanup and secured the site and that much of the gas has dissipated. Any oil that is encountered as part of the demolition process will be dealt with.
“At this point, we feel it’s nothing we can’t handle,” Esnard said. “If we do encounter a problem, we will remediate whatever we find.”
For now, until all these details are worked out, the parking garage will stay open, according to Esnard, who estimates at least six months.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006
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