The Department of Buildings ordered a halt to construction work at JD Carlisle and Fosun Group’s 15 East 30th Street, a condominium development that drew the ire of its neighbors by using a zoning loophole to raise its height by 155 feet.
The DOB issued the order over an outdoor space on the second floor, which didn’t meet the required width of 10 feet, Crain’s reported. Work will remain on hold until the developers and the city agency resolve the issue.
Residents of the neighboring condo Sky House oppose the 55-unit, 760-foot tall project in its current form, arguing that it “violates all kinds of urban design standards.” JD Carlisle and Fosun added 155 feet to the towers height by placing systems and nonresidential space on the bottom three floors and raising their average ceiling height to 44 feet – in effect creating dead space at the bottom to add height at the top.
The DOB approved the plan, arguing that zoning laws don’t regulate the ceiling height for mechanical space. [Crain’s] – Konrad Putzier