Ross Sandler
In the fourteenth century wealthy Tuscan families in San Gimignano built narrow, overly tall towers as a show of economic power and to defend themselves during the wars between the Guelfs and Ghibellines. Today tourists see the towers as curious, oversized stone steles. Were the descendants of those San Gimignano families to tour New York City they would feel at home in some of the new residential towers being built in Manhattan.
The Alexico Group in the mid-2000s demolished New York Law School’s four story Mendik Library in anticipation of building an 820-foot tower at 56 Leonard Street at the corner of Church Street. At the same time New York Law School built a five story classroom building at the West Broadway end of the same city block. Work on the Alexico site halted for four years during the housing crisis, but has started again with a rush. Through the magic of the zoning resolution Alexico is building an 820-foot residential tower.
Rendering of 56 Leonard Street tower, Manhattan. Image Credit: 56 Leonard LLC.
The tower, called iconic by Alexico, will rise in twisting layouts that have cantilevered apartments projecting in dizzy cascades. The Wall Street Journal reported on June 26, 2013 that 80 percent of the apartments in 56 Leonard Street have been sold for a total of $900 million, with the top duplex penthouse selling for $47 million to a hedge fund manager. At that height the duplex owner will be able to send semaphore signals to the penthouse residents of the 76-story Frank Gehry-designed residential tower near City Hall at 8 Spruce Street. For the moment the Spruce Street residents have the pride of height.
New York City’s land use policy fluctuates between “the sky’s the limit” on the one hand and “preserve the neighborhood” on the other. Tribeca is mostly landmarked except for Church Street sites like 56 Leonard Street, which explains the sudden, jarring height change. The view Alexico shows to prospects is the view west that overlooks low, landmarked Tribeca to the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge, a view guaranteed by the landmarks law. The view from within Tribeca looks more like a ground level view of San Gimignano.
Competitive tower building in San Gimignano halted when the town council decreed that no one could build higher than the 175-foot tall Palazzo Comunale. Maybe our City Council could learn a lesson from their fourteenth century colleagues.
Ross Sandler
San Gimignano, Italy. Image Credit: Sangimignano.net.
Bravo, Professor Sandler! In New York City, we are living in the developers’ golden age, and it’s terrific to find someone so knowledgeable raising questions about it. But money is the only thing that talks in our City, and the Bloomberg city planners have raised it to new heights.
Al Butzel
What about economics? First, did you notice that San Gimignano is today a nice “landmark” but certainly not a vibrant city. Did the height restriction make that outcome inevitable? Second, did you notice that the building of today’s residential towers is driven by demand? Should the whole City be landmarked or simply subject to lower height restrictions everywhere—say a story or two? Perhaps if we had higher height restrictions overall, it might be possible for the City to develop in a less gerrymandered way. Higher density (with proper public amenities) makes environmental sense and also responds to the desire of people to live and work in places where they do not need a car (bikes are a nice alternative) and have access to a wide array of educational, cultural and other activities. Mark Willis