Projects Around Town: Saving a Landmarked SoHo Condo

One of the smaller jobs was reacting to a change in Local Law 11: the buildings' terrace railings now had to be taller. The railings were measured, cast, and replaced. They also painted and cleaned the building exteriors, including some of the historic cast iron where previous coats of paint were starting to wear off. An assessment paid for the work, which totaled $420,000 and needed the approval of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Mix of Styles

Matching the period, colors, and materials on one building was hard, but the project also had to deal with two buildings with one-of-a-kind characteristics. The south building, 42-44 Wooster, was built in 1882-3, but the north one wasn't constructed until 1894-5, using dissimilar materials and done in another style.

"One of the challenges in any restoration is matching the new material to the old," says Charles DiSanto of Walter B. Melvin Architects. "Some of it we restored and cleaned up, some spots just needed patching material of exactly the right color, and a few spots needed new pre-cast concrete."

Project start: September 2012
Project end: July 2013 

PROJECT 

● Repairing masonry

● Installing new terrace railings

● Repainting cast iron exterior

● Repainting windows

INVESTMENT

$420,000

PARTICIPANTS

Charles DiSanto, principal-in-charge, Walter B. Melvin Architects 

Donald Friedman, consultant, Old Structures Engineering

Susan Daimler, board president

Liz Sabosik, property manager, The Andrews Organization

West New York Restoration, contractor

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Photo courtesy Walter B. Melvin Architects