Written by David Bogoslaw on February 23, 2018
An architect can help win Landmarks Preservation Commission approval.
Written by Kathryn Farrell on September 11, 2013
Sugar Hill evokes mixed feelings in Albelisa Kemp, a project manager at Rand Architecture & Engineering. “It’s a beautiful district; there’s some really amazing stonework,” she says, while admitting to some disappointment: the historic district, located in the northern part of the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem, has also unfortunately seen a lot of deterioration over the years.
An exception to that trend is 470 Convent Avenue. The six-story, Beaux-Arts brick building is undergoing a façade, roof and window renovation. “The building is an icon,” board president Michael Davu says, noting that it was designed by architects Gross & Kleinberger and constructed in 1911. “People come to the neighborhood from everywhere, so we get a lot of foot traffic,” he adds. The property has eight commercial stores on an avenue that is otherwise almost all residential.