LPC kills Schnall’s Tribeca condo plans

The Landmarks Preservation Commission shot down developer Steven Schnall’s plans to build a nine-story condominium building at 15 Leonard Street in Tribeca, according to Curbed. Schnall had planned to replace two single-story parking garages with a building composed of a two-story glass base topped with five stories of steel residences and a two-story roof addition.

The developer intended to move his family into the two-story base and the cellar, to form a three-floor, 6,000-square-foot maisonette. Below that would be a commercial parking garage. The four lower levels of the five-story middle section would include full-floor, 2,600-square-foot apartments, while the top floor of the middle section and the rooftop addition would form a triplex penthouse.

The dark exterior of the proposed building, with its asymmetrical windows, led the local community board to unanimously reject the proposal. One of its main objections, according to Curbed, was the relative size of the penthouse. However, LPC commissioners were split last night, with some considering the design to be approprate and others calling it “too big” and “tiresome.” As a result of the split decision, the design team will have to work with LPC on a suitable alternative. [Curbed]