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250 5th Avenue (bet. 28th & 29th Streets) application for a proposed hotel on 28th Street side of the site and by the adaptation of the upper floors of the existing bank building with a rooftop restaurant.
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, October 11, 2012, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 39 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, 250 5th Avenue (bet. 28th & 29th Streets) is located on the Madison Square North Historic District and appeared before CB 5 July 10 and was the subject of an LPC Public Hearing July 23, 2012; and
WHEREAS, CB5 recommended approval by a vote of 34-0-1 of their proposal as shown below; and
WHEREAS, LPC requested the developer and architect to revise their plans for the proposed hotel; and
WHEREAS, CB5 was notified by residents of the neighborhood that they were not informed of the CB 5 meetings; and
WHEREAS, CB5 scheduled another presentation of the revised proposal which would allow community input and comments on the proposal; and
WHEREAS, This re-hearing provided CB5 with an update on the provisions of the new proposal; and
WHEREAS, The revisions resulting from LPC comments only serve to improve the appearance of the proposed hotel with: 1) less verticality of the tower as a result of horizontal banding at every other floor break: 2) symmetrical placement of elevator shaft ways on the easterly facade of the tower; and 3) a redesign of a new entrance canopy with more historic references; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of a proposed hotel on 28th Street side of the site and by the adaptation of the upper floors of the existing bank building with a rooftop restaurant at 250 5th Avenue (bet. 28th & 29th Streets) in the Madison Square North Historic District.
CB 5 July 10, 2012 Resolution:
250 5th Avenue (bet. 28th & 29th Streets), Madison Square North Historic District - Application for new construction for a hotel tower modifying the penthouse floor of 250 Fifth Avenue as a roof top restaurant for the hotel.
WHEREAS, 250 Fifth Avenue is a five story and penthouse office building located in the Madison Square North Historic District, constructed in 1907-08, designed by the renowned Architects, McKim, Mead and White, for the Second National Bank as their headquarters building; and
WHEREAS, Second National Bank of the City of New York was founded in 1863, and was a pioneer in providing banking services for female customers; and
WHEREAS, 250 Fifth Avenue, renovated in 1907, 1913 and 1928, is now occupied by the Broadway National Bank (BNB Bank), and remains largely intact on the exterior; and
WHEREAS, The Neoclassical 250 Fifth Avenue building is constructed of limestone, brick and terra cotta and will be joined to a new 220 ft. high, 23-story hotel tower on West 28th Street, with a facade in a complimentary contemporary modern design, containing vertical elements, primarily of beige brick, slightly lighter in tone than the brick on the 250 Fifth Avenue facade; and
WHEREAS, The penthouse, or 6th Floor of 250 Fifth Avenue, will be enlarged and reconfigured but the new restaurant/bar design limits the penthouse visibility from the public way; and
WHEREAS, Other building modifications include creating entrances to the 180-key hotel and the installation of a canopy at the West 28th Street proposed main entrance to the hotel, where a now-demolished, circa 1913 metal and glass canopy once existed; and
WHEREAS, LPC has approved two other 20-story new towers in the District at 241 Fifth Avenue and 224 Fifth Avenue, far more radical and modern in their design than this proposal and there are several other buildings in the District at this height or higher; and
WHEREAS, The building does not utilize 40,000 sq. ft. of allowable FAR, in effect keeping the height less than an as of right building; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant agreed to return to CB 5 to present signage design details for the hotel and, in particular, the canopy when the hotel operator and/or hotel name is determined; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the Application for the new hotel design at the N/W corner of 250 Fifth Avenue and West 28th Street, including a new, larger penthouse floor and a new entrance canopy on West 28th Street, provided the Applicant returns to CB5 with the signage design for the hotel and other elements relating to the entrance canopy once the name and/or operator of the hotel are determined.
The above resolution passed by a vote of 34 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining.