The public plaza next to the Trump Soho condo hotel opened last Friday, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Although it might become known as “Trump Plaza,” it’s not to be confused with the real estate tycoon’s Atlantic City hotel and casino of the same name. The Soho outdoor plaza runs midblock from Spring St. to Dominick St., between Varick St. and Sixth Ave. Not only is the plaza a public amenity, but including it allowed Trump and his developer partners to add height to their soaring, 46-story building. According to David Reck, chairperson of Community Board 2’s Zoning Committee, through a clever zoning strategy, the developers combined zoning lots with the building on the corner of Sixth Ave. and Dominick St. — from which they had purchased air rights to be added to the condo hotel — which then allowed them to double the amount of “plaza bonus” they could add to the condo hotel.
