Multifamily Residential

Category Subtitle

Smith-Grey Condominium

Project Manager/Designer: Robert M. Scarano jr., Eugene Drubestskoy

Completion Date: April 2004

Location: Williamsburg

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The Smith – Gray Condominium project is a complete gut renovation and conversion into loft style apartments, along with the addition of two floors on the roof. The building is a well known, dramatic cast iron building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which was converted into 40 unique loft style apartments, ranging in size from studio condominium to 3-bed room penthouses apartments. Our design approach was focused in several areas, including a long process of selecting the most appropriate color for the restored facades, which has made the building extremely pleasing to the public. The apartment layouts take full advantage of light and air, and all mechanical and plumbing shafts were consolidated to create an environmentally conscious design. The renovation of this distinctive building constituted the preservation of a Brooklyn landmark, and 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.

West 9th Street

Project Manager/Designer: Alex Zhitnik

Completion Date: January 2004

Location: Carroll Gardens

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Built on a busy street in Carroll Gardens, this 10 unit building creates a transition between two very different zoning districts. As a result of regulations that varied the maximum allowed height, this structure takes its cues from the stepped forms around it. Simple, crisp lines with bold details create the concept for the façade. Masonry, metal panels and stucco as surfacing materials accentuate the striking forms. Utilizing the maximum amount of area required the excavation of almost two levels of earth. Seven floors were then constructed above, making the buildings highest point 70'. This created an instant neighborhood landmark which added to the Brooklyn skyline as seen from the adjacent expressway and many of the streets. The unique design of this mixed-use building can help generate the sales necessary to make it a success.

Eckford Street

Project Manager/Designer: Ilana Kushnir

Completion Date: October 2004

Location: North Side

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Building a structure that takes advantage of the Manhattan skyline views and the adjacent Maclaren Park in the Northside section of Brooklyn required a slender tower design. While the resurgence of this massing type, in certain limited districts, is an example of how a variety of building masses can coexist along a single block; it shows that tall can be beautiful too. Varying the exterior finish materials from masonry to stucco on a prefabricated panel allowed for a unique look that breaks down the building's perceived height to a scale that is contextual to the neighbors, and identifies the different unit type's, duplexes and flats. By retaining the existing two-story factory as a base for the new building, tenant amenities such as on-site parking, a meeting room, private gym, sun deck, wine cellar, bike and storage rooms and a large lobby were made possible. The resulting development creates a lifestyle and a look that any owner would envy.

North 7th Street

Project Manager/Designer: Robert M. Scarano jr.

Completion Date: March 2004

Location: Williamsburg

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This project is an 8-family condominium complex, located in the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. This area is considered to be Brooklyn's answer to Manhattan's SoHo, with small boutiques and multi-cultural restaurants lining Bedford Avenue. The building consists of 2 duplex apartments on the first floor, and 2 apartments. The design concept for the facade was drawn from the industrial quality of the surrounding buildings, utilizing modern building technologies such as a glass curtain wall with massive steel beams. When completed, the building will contribute to the local community by stretching the boundaries of typical brick buildings that surround it. The glass components of the facade, as well as the apartment balconies, are treated with varying levels of opacity, which convey a sense of openness, while providing privacy for the spaces behind it.