Awesome Architecture Alert: Broadway Getting Berkel'd

[Photo via PropertyShark]

The Dutch built up this crazy little island, and now they're coming back to add a touch of the avant-garde. Ben van Berkel, one of the principal architects behind the UNStudio design firm—whose work upstate was sadly destroyed by fire recently—is designing his first condo building in America, and it's landing at 5 Franklin Place. Franklin whatnow? Franklin Place is a one-block alley that connects Franklin and White Streets, half a block west of Broadway and a few blocks below Canal Street. Yes, the residents' entrance will be in an alley, which immediately makes this the most awesome thing ever. Those twin five-story buildings seen above, at 369-371 Broadway, are what sit on the lot now. The developer of the project is Sleepy Hudson, the same company behind the trippy High Line 519, but 5 Franklin Place will be bigger—21 stories. The cat was let out of the bag back in November 2006, when Sleepy Hudson secured financing for the project. And indeed, there's already a Wired New York thread on the topic. But van Berkel's involvement is the splashy new headline. We assume 369-371 Broadway will be razed to make way for the new building, but so far only interior demolition permits have been filed.

· UNStudio [unstudio.com]
· Thread: 21-story condo plan on Broadway between White and Franklin Streets [WiredNY]

Filed under Architecture, Manhattan: Chinatown, Manhattan: Financial District/Wall St/Battery Park City, Manhattan: Tribeca, Real Estate Development, 5 Franklin Place, Ben Van Berkel, Five Franklin Place, High Line 519, Sleepy Hudson

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