Taconic’s Downtown makeover revealed

A rendering of Taconic’s dramatic planned makeover of 375 Pearl Street has been revealed. The old Verizon switching station at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, which critic Paul Goldberger called it “disturbing” when it was built in 1975, was sold to Taconic for $172 million in the fall. The firm plans a $350 million redesign, which will strip limestone and reclad the 32-story tower with a glass curtain wall, revealing big concrete support beams. Three former air-conditioning shafts will be converted to office space.