Shrinkage? Peebles’ Tribeca community space not so spacious

Local board said it was promised 16K sf, not 10 sf

Don Peebles and 346 Broadway in Tribeca
Don Peebles and 346 Broadway in Tribeca

The Peebles Corporation and the Elad Group’s planned conversion of 346 Broadway in Tribeca hit a roadblock after Peebles revealed at a Community Board 1 meeting last week that the ground-floor community space will be smaller than expected.

Peebles told the board that the developer’s deal with the city will allow for the media center – which Downtown Community Television would occupy – to be almost 10,000 square feet. The board complained that it was promised 15,700 square feet.

“There’s no gimmick here,” Don Peebles told the board, as cited by the Tribeca Trib. “This is what we offered. Measure it however way you want, and we’re providing the same amount of space on a lower floor.”

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Peebles said the Landmarks Preservation Commission requested that the former banking hall be turned into a publicly accessible space instead of a private townhouse. The reconfiguration led to a smaller community space.

The developers filed plans in June for the project, including 364,137 square feet of residential space. The city sold the landmarked 13-story, 400,000-square-foot building to the developers for $160 million in December 2013.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission have not yet weighed in on the Beyer Blinder Belle-designed conversion project. A meeting has been set for November 18. [Tribeca Trib]Mark Maurer