Three of NYC’s oldest buildings will be demolished to make way for a 22-unit luxury condo and art gallery

Federal houses at 282-286 Grand Street in LES were built around 1820

282-286 Grand Street (Credit: Google Maps)
282-286 Grand Street (Credit: Google Maps)

Out with the old and in with the new. Three 200-year-old buildings on the Lower East Side will be demolished to make way for a new 22-unit luxury condominium development with an art gallery on Grand Street.

The owner of the properties, Marc Straus, is developing the eight-story condo building designed by architectural firms Peterson Rich Office (PRO) and Vito Errico, Bowery Boogie reported. The development will feature 20 condominiums and two penthouses, according to the website, as well as an art gallery at the base. The floor area covers roughly 20,000 square feet, and all of the condos will be one-bedroom units spanning around 550 square feet.

Earlier this month, the Department of Buildings issued demolition permits for three structures at 282-286 Grand Street, which have been on the street since roughly 1820. (For a bit of perspective: New York City’s first tenement building, at 65 Mott Street, was constructed in 1824.) The architects previously said the buildings are not suitable for renovation, because of changes tenants made. Construction is slated to begin in the spring, and completion is due for the fall of 2018.

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Straus, an oncologist-turned-art dealer, paid $9 million for the buildings in 2015, Curbed reported, citing property records.

Several developers — including Taconic Investment Partners [TRDataCustom], Magnum Real Estate Group and Cogswell Lee Development — are betting big on the Lower East Side, saying residents are drawn the the area’s history, grit, shops and museums. [Bowery Boogie]Miriam Hall