Houses -- One Modern, One Traditional -- Planned for Clinton Hill Need Tweaking, Landmarks Says

Two new single-family homes in differing styles set to rise on the corner of Clifton Place and Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill have largely got the support of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Architect Nikolai Katz presented the plans for the two houses to go up on the same undeveloped corner lot in the Clinton Hill Historic District at LPC’s Tuesday meeting. The first, at 50 Clifton Place, will be a more traditional brownstone and brick townhouse with a parapet, and stoop. The second, around the corner at new address 302 Grand Avenue, will be a more modern building that uses long bricks and bluestone for the cornice and sills, and has a railing on the roof instead of a parapet.

While Katz didn’t get a vote of approval for the designs from the commissioners, he did get a large showing of support for his approach of building the houses in their own distinct styles.

However, the commissioners agreed that Katz must fine-tune the design of each building to make them more distinctly modern and traditional. Specifically, the commissioners and other speakers said the 50 Clifton Place building should include an enframement on the parlor floor door, lintels, and other refinements to the facade.

Comments on 302 Grand Avenue were largely focused on the inappropriateness of the glass guard rail on the roof. They also agreed work needs to be done on the fencing joining the two properties.

Asked why he was developing two buildings rather than one larger property on the lot, Katz said the neighboring house at 48 Clifton Place had east facing windows that could not be obstructed and zoning laws require an open courtyard of a specific size on the lot.

An 1887 map shows the vacant land was never developed. While there was plenty of room to bring the Italianate/French Empire row to the corner, the last brownstone in the row, 48 Clifton Place, was given an extra-wide lot, allowing the house a side yard and windows overlooking it — but making the adjacent corner lot a tiny sliver too narrow to be developed, the map shows.

An old certificate of occupancy and photos show the house at 48 Grand used all the undeveloped land as a side yard and parked a car in the rear next to neighboring garages. When the current owner acquired the vacant land in 2001, the transfer included both the narrow corner lot and part of the lot at No. 48, the deed shows.

Only Commissioner Michael Goldblum questioned the appropriateness of having the second mid-block building on the site built out as a full townhouse, saying it is “rather unusual to say the least”.

He said if two buildings are to be built on the property, they both need work and further refinement to be fully realized in the styles they are aiming for. “I think that when the architect pulls his punches, makes it traditional but not quite, makes it modern but not quite, what winds up is not quite, it’s kind of washed out.”

Commissioner Lutfy said Katz was extremely fortunate to work on the site, vacant for more than 100 years, and said she loved the concept of pivoting between the traditional and contemporary. However, she agreed the plans need further refinement.

“You have a corner building, corner buildings in brownstone neighborhoods are so visually important. They can be memorable buildings…I think you want to do something to this building to make it a little more memorable. This is just a little bit too understated. And I think what some of the other commissioners started saying is it’s a little undercooked.”

While most commissioners supported Katz further refining the buildings as modern and traditional, Commissioner Fred Bland said he would prefer to see two contemporary buildings on the site.

“I much prefer the contemporary approach because it’s a new building in the historic district, and goodness knows we know lots of great new buildings have been built in historic districts over years and years and years.”

Reps from the Historic Districts Council and Victorian Society of New York, along with Brooklyn preservationist Claudette Brady, also spoke at the hearing and urged the commission to require further work on the designs.

John Graham of the Victorian Society of New York said while the society supports the development of the two houses, “we feel that the proposal as presented misses many small opportunities.”

Graham suggested the architect tier the windows from largest at the parlor level to smallest at the top floor in both houses; develop the detailing at 50 Clifton Place to include lintels, a masonry door frame, wood double entry doors, and more; and to further refine designs for 302 Grand Avenue. “We respect the applicant’s decision to create a modern version of a row house. We’d suggest modern doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as plain.”

Brady said 50 Clifton Place “lacks the robust application of ornamentation” such as more articulated lintels and proper door framing, and said the cornice and bay “appear to be anemic based on the size of the building.”

“For the modern building, the building needs to be unabashedly modern; at this point, it’s just a plain brown box. I would suggest that the architect go back and really commit to each design as presented modern and traditional.”

The commission didn’t take any action on the plans at the meeting, instead asking Katz and his team to work on the designs and come back when they have been refined.

Katz and another architect firm, Dache Design, are is working on the building design. Bayside Builders is the contractor. Grand Old Properties Inc. is listed as the property owner in city records.

[Renderings by Nikolai Katz and Dache Design via LPC]

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