well-known project at One Brooklyn Bridge
Park that was, at one time, selling for $1,000
per square foot. Although these types of
structures often present more challenges
than typical renovations or new construc-
tion, the large space, quality of the historic
design and construction, and opportunity
for innovation make such projects attractive
for developers and builders. They also
often spur revitalization of their surround-
ing neighborhoods, something the
PowerHouse design team believes will
happen with Long Island City.
“We wanted to respect the existing
building because it had a certain character,”
Fischer says. “Our challenge was to maintain
the existing building and accommodate
new additions on top to maximize the
potential development rights.”
COMPROMISES
Designed by McKim, Mead & White—the
acclaimed architecture fi rm responsible
for such notable buildings as New York’s by-
gone Pennsylvania Station and the National
Museum of American History in Washing-
ton, D.C.—the power plant was built in 1906
to provide electricity for the Long Island and
Pennsylvania Railroads. The structure’s clas-
sical proportions and large arched windows
were typical of the turn-of-the-century City
Beautiful era, but it was the tall, 275-foot
smokestacks—visible for miles—that really
made the building distinctive.
Because of this, an early design for the
project incorporated the chimneys. “The
chimneys were landmarks in terms of their
size and height,” Fischer says. “So we did
a design where we tried to maintain the
OLD IS NEW AGAIN
would come with a lot of hardship, which it chimneys and straddle in between them a
did come with,” says Cheskel Schwimmer, 4- or 5-story glass box that would span the
The original plan for the PowerHouse was principal of CGS Developers, which is also four chimneys. That was a very unique de-
to raze the power plant and build four new the parent company for the general con- sign, but it didn’t quite fi t into the defi nition
residential structures, according to Karl tractor, CGS Construction. “But we always of what the zoning would allow.”
Fischer. After a community outcry, however, thought the project was going to work. The design team worked to convince city
the builder determined the project might be People in the neighborhood liked seeing planning offi cials that the chimneys were
more cost-effective, dramatic, and attractive some of the building remain.” structures and the new building should be
to neighbors and potential buyers if the old With its impressive scale and many allowed to equal their height, but they were
building was saved. historic features intact, the building is overruled. As a result, the four chimneys
“Looking at the building, it wasn’t dif- now the latest in a new wave of rehabilita- were razed—yet they inspired one of the
fi cult to imagine a conversion, but I knew it tions of large industrial plants, including a most striking aspects of the new
RETROFIT MAGAZINE // FALL 2009 43
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