DDG reveals new Chocolate Factory plans

DDG Partners has unveiled new design plans for its Soho condominium conversion at 325 West Broadway, which now features a cast aluminum facade, Curbed reported.

When DDG purchased the Chocolate Factory — a name that references its former use as a Tootsie Roll factory — for as much as $39 million, the property already had plans approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. But that didn’t stop DDG from making some major changes.

The developer also solicited design plans from architecture students at the University of Virginia, as The Real Deal reported, though those plans will not be used.

Yesterday, the firm released new plans by DDG’s in-house architect Peter Guthrie at a Landmarks public hearing. The plans call for the nine-story, 24-unit building to be draped in a cast aluminum screen, covering a glass window wall. The ground floor retail space will be all glass, thus creating the illusion that the facade is floating. Construction is set to wrap up by 2015.

According to Curbed, Landmarks was mostly impressed with the design, but declined to offer full approval. Instead, Guthrie will return at a later date to clear up some lingering concerns regarding the setback and sloped ninth floor. [Curbed] —Christopher Cameron