Zar Property files plans for funky duplex office PH in Soho

Zar Property NY is moving ahead with plans to construct a two-story glass duplex penthouse on top of a five-story commercial condominium building in Soho, according to filings with the city’s Department of Buildings Monday.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a 12,000-square-foot duplex office condo addition at 38 Greene Street, near Grand Street, in January. The penthouse will also have three private terraces totaling 4,000 square feet.

The 45,000-square-foot cast-iron building was constructed in 1869. Zar has owned it since 2008, records show.

Rents at the building are roughly $75 per square foot. The penthouse’s asking rent will likely be in the triple digits, said Simon Zar, principal at Zar Property.

The property is fully occupied, and Zar will handle leasing in-house for the new space. Construction is slated to begin by late summer.

Workshop/APD is serving as the designer of the penthouse.

The design is “based in the language of the historic context – specifically the repetition and proportion of architectural elements, the shadows produced by layers on the facade, and divided glazing patterns,” said Matthew Berman, principal at Workshop/APD.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Aurora Capital Associates – in partnership with Jeff Sutton, Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities and the Adjmi family – is razing the building at 529 Broadway at Spring Street to make way for a six-story retail building.