Smith Gray Building

The gut renovation, exterior restoration, and addition to the dramatic cast-iron Smith-Gray condominium building, affectionately known to locals as “The Blue Building”, constituted the preservation of a Brooklyn landmark.

Our design approach was detail-oriented, and the careful design for the exterior restoration focused on the Corinthian columns, Art Deco detailing, large windows on the ground floor that transition into Roman arch-top windows on the upper floors, and subtle blue coloring.

The facade details vary at every floor, which presented a detailing challenge for the restoration portion of the project. The overall effect gives the building a sense of solidity and elegance, complemented by gentle blue tones that change according to the time of day.

The penthouse addition is hardly visible from the street, in an attempt to maximize floor area without compromising the building’s impact in its context and its historical significance as a Brooklyn landmark.

The apartment layouts take full advantage of natural light and air, and all mechanical and plumbing shafts were consolidated to create an environmentally conscious design.

The blending of new and old has produced a sensitively preserved structure and exterior wall system that wraps around 40 unique loft-style apartments, ranging in size from studio to three bedrooms.

The addition of two penthouse floors increases the building’s total area to 60,000 square feet, with a construction budget of approximately $4.5 million at $75/sf.

The renovation of this distinctive building spurred the conversion and development of over 15 projects within a one block range. It has, in addition, managed to attract many young professional buyers to this rapidly gentrifying community by providing a luxurious lifestyle with state of the art interiors in a classical setting.