Fischer-designed rental to replace 3rd Street row house

An eight-story, 33-unit, rental building slated to replace an antebellum row house at 316 East 3rd Street is expected to receive its new building permit within the next six weeks, the New York Times reported. The building will be designed by architect Karl Fischer.

“We plan to develop this underutilized asset into its highest use: a rental building. The acquisition price was below market, and with rising rents in the area, it was a great opportunity,” said developer Brody/Amirian.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s refusal to recognize the row house as a landmark has frustrated some community activists who say it held historical significance.

“The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s refusal to recognize the importance of these very few, rare, early-19th century houses in the East Village is utterly perplexing and deeply distressing,” said Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. “It’s a rare link back to that otherwise virtually nonexistent history, when the East Village was at the center of New York’s working waterfront.” [NYT]