Two iconic Lower East Side business structures sold in recent months, and details on their new life are beginning to emerge. At 45 Canal Street, between Ludlow and Orchard streets, the 102-year-old E&G Model Shop is being converted into a single-family home with a commercial space on the ground floor, Bowery Boogie reported.
The new owners bought the building, once home to the Maccarone gallery, for $2.35 million in March 2011 and plan to use available air rights to add a 508-square-foot living space to the rooftop. The building will grow about 12 feet taller to a total of 49 feet.
Meanwhile, the former M. Schames & Sons paint store building, at 3 Essex Street between Canal and Hester streets, sold along with the empty lot at 5 Essex Street earlier this year for $6 million. The Schames family was forced to relocate to Delancey Street because its building, parts of which date back to the early 1800s, was inhabitable thanks to shoddy demolition work at 5 Essex Street.
Lo-Down NY reported that the new owners, listed as an LLC, are taking their time deciding what to develop on the site. In the meantime they may set up a temporary garden or art installation in the empty lot. [Bowery Boogie] and [Lo-Down NY]