Landmarks approves 8-story cast-iron-inspired rental in Tribeca
(L) Exterior rendering, (R) North facing rendering. Images courtesy of the LPC.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the demolition of two mid-20th-century commercial buildings in Tribeca’s historic district to make way for a luxury residential development. Proposed by SilverLining Development, the 8-story project at 31–35 Lispenard Street in the Tribeca East Historic District will feature 19 apartments, likely rentals, as Tribeca Citizen first reported, with a facade inspired by the cast-iron buildings in neighboring Soho. Aden Wiener, founder of SilverLining, said the development will introduce a “new concept of living” to the area, with ground-floor retail and a boutique collection of “highly amenitized” loft residences.
SilverLining purchased the two-lot parcel for $7.5 million in an off-market transaction. The deal also included the purchase of air rights from an adjacent property at 325 Church Street. The seller was real estate investment firm Urban Standard Capital, which had planned a seven-story residential building with ground-floor retail at the site. LPC approved that plan in 2019, but it was never built.
Both corner businesses, the Dominican diner Westside Coffeeshop and a barber shop at the site, closed in fall 2024, according to Tribeca Citizen.
The previous proposal featured a limestone facade with horizontal reveals carved into the building, a penthouse floor and bulkhead designed to match the overall color of the building, and a rear brick facade.
Marin Architecture has been tapped to design the project in collaboration with Charlap Hyman & Herrero. Marin designed 685 Fifth Avenue, the former Gucci headquarters, which it later transformed in 2024 into the 29-story Mandarin Oriental Residences. The firm also designed Brooklyn’s first Apple store at 247 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg.
The residential building will feature four units on the second and third floors: two studios, a one-bedroom, and a two-bedroom. The fourth through sixth floors will contain two one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit per floor, while the seventh and eighth floors will house two duplex units.
The facade will feature metal cladding, a material that has drawn concern from local advocacy groups. In Tuesday’s presentation, Christina Conroy of the Victorian Society New York said the group supports many aspects of the proposal but questioned the use of metal cladding in a district where masonry is the dominant historic facade material.
“A new building in any historic district should be considered not just on its own merits, but for the way it relates to the streetscape,” Conroy said. “This proposal seems to have strayed into the neighborhood from the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District, so we urge the applicant and the commission to rethink this aspect of the design.”
The applicant’s spokesperson said they understood concerns about the metal palette and assured those worried about the design that the team plans to use high-quality materials and is in discussions with manufacturers to determine the ideal thickness of the aluminum panels.
While the two lots, measuring roughly 3,120 square feet, reside within the historic district, the buildings were never a contributor to the historic character of the area.
The district’s 1992 designation report lists 35 Lispenard’s original architect as Mac L. Reiser, who designed it between 1954 and 1956. An alteration during that period demolished two upper stories of a brick building previously occupied by merchants of cloaks and suits. It was later converted into a boarding house, and subsequently into a ground-floor saloon with storage and factory space above.
The building’s current marble facade is the result of an alteration application filed in 1969, though the work was not completed until 1991. During the 1960s, the space operated as a retail store and was later replaced by a restaurant.
Construction is expected to begin this summer, although no building permits have been filed yet. The building is as-of-right and does not require additional approvals or zoning changes.
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