By Elizabeth O’Brien
Tribeca residents are urging the city to reject the application of a bond-trading firm to construct a building taller than normally allowed under city zoning, saying it would set a dangerous precedent for the neighborhood.
The firm, Samuel A. Ramirez and Co., plans to construct its New York headquarters at 408 Greenwich St. The nine-story building would feature ground-floor retail, four floors of office space, two stories of rental or sale apartments, and two residential stories to be occupied by the firm’s principals.
City zoning regulations effectively restrict construction at 408 Greenwich St. to a six-story building, unless the developer wants to build a narrow structure. In order to build higher than six stories with the proposed square footage, Ramirez must secure a variance from the city Board of Standards and Appeals.
“The real danger here is spot zoning — it’s not how we develop our neighborhood,” Bernard D’Orazio, a member of C.B. 1 and president of Save Our Space, a group opposed to large-scale development in the area, said at the monthly full-board meeting of Community Board 1 on Tuesday.
There are other tall buildings on Greenwich St. in Tribeca. The Citigroup building is much taller than the building proposed for 408, but that is in a different zoning area, according to officials at the Department of City Planning. Another tall building, the Globix building at 415 Greenwich, was built before current zoning regulations went into effect, officials said.
Representatives for Ramirez first presented their proposed headquarters to the community last spring. They originally proposed an 11-story building then reduced it by two floors in response to community concerns. The architect also made design changes to the building’s lot wall to make it more architecturally interesting after community members complained that it looked dull.
Community board members said on Tuesday that they supported the design of the building and its mixed use. But they passed a resolution saying that the bulky building would have a “severe negative impact” on the neighborhood and urged the city to reject it.
City zoning provides for a floor-area ratio of 5 for the lot at 408 Greenwich St., a number that indicates the available square footage in a building. The Ramirez firm is applying for a floor-area ratio of 7.99, which would allow them to build three stories higher than the six-story allowed as-of-right under plan’s proposed square footage.
To secure the variance, developers must prove that the particular properties of their land would make it difficult for them to build within the zoning. In the case of 408 Greenwich, the firm has argued that the small lot size and sub-ground conditions would make it too difficult to develop within the zoning restrictions and make a reasonable return on investment.
The next meeting before the Board of Standards and Appeals is scheduled to take place on Feb. 24. At the first meeting this month, community members turned out in force to protest the variance application.
However, Samuel A. Ramirez and Co. plans to stick with its current design at the meeting, said Ho ward Weiss, the attorney representing the firm.
“There will be no changes made to the building at this time,” said Weiss, who attended Tuesday’s community board meeting.
A spokesperson for the Board of Standards and Appeals declined to comment on the variance application for 408 Greenwich St.
Elizabeth@DowntownExpress.com
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