Addresses: 295 West 76 Street/348 Amsterdam Avenue (between 75 and 76) (former Dakota Stables), 206 West 77 Street, 207 West 76 Street
Block No: 1168
Lot No: 33
Landmark status: No
Summary of site plans and status
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UPDATE: 3/18/08
The Harrison will be located in C2-7A and C4-6A zoning district, which requires a special permit by the Board of Standards and Appeals to operate a culture or health establishment building. The developer has submitted a BSA special permit application.
The Related Companies are planning to develop an 18-story mixed-use, luxury residential building on Amsterdam Avenue between West 76 Street and West 77 Street. If not for the owners of the Amsterdam, the development would have encompassed the entire block along Amsterdam Avenue. The Related Companies are planning to have an Equinox Gym on the second floor of The Harrison.
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As listed in “The Architect’s Newspaper” August 1, 2007:
Developer: The Related Companies
Architects: Robert A. M. Stern Architects, Ismael Leyva Architects
Size: 325, 000 square feet
Type: Residential
Completion: Spring 2009.
According to a 24 May, 1987 article in the New York Times, the Dakota Stables were built in 1891 and 1894, in two sections. It had 158 stalls and space for over 300 carriages. It was a Romanesque Revival structure almost entirely of brick, with little decoration.
Related Companies bought up all but 2 businesses on this block in an effort to build luxury condominiums in their place. The two businesses, the Westside Brewery Company (owned by Steve Wiebe) and the Amsterdam Inn above it, are at the end of block on West 76 Street and Amsterdam Avenue, and the developer is building around these remaining businesses. 206 West 77 and 207 West 76 Streets are the buildings that have also been demolished and these encircle the two businesses.
It is believed that the developers hold air rights over the hotel and bar and are not averse to building over the property as well.
In early 2007, Related demolished the Equinox Fitness Club, Champion Parking Lot (closed permanently December 31, 2006), and Chirping Chicken (which re-opened across the street).
The structure that was destroyed included the historic Dakota Stable, which was heard at the Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 17, 2006. After much advocacy for calendering a hearing, the members of the Commission decided not to move forward on discussion of landmarking because the owner had obtained a Department of Buildings permit to remove the facade in April 2006, and the night before the LPC hearing, he did so.
Related hired the architect Robert A.M Stern, to build an 18-story complex with ground level retail and a 2nd story Equinox gym.
The New-York Cab Co. Stable, which houses the Brewery and the Inn, as well as a restaurant and the Champion Garage, and is owned by Jacob Oved, was also calendared on October 17, 2006 and was declared a landmark on November 14, 2006. (318-330 Amsterdam Avenue aka 201-205 West 75 Street, Manhattan; Block 1167, Lot 29). 22 witnesses including Council Member Gale A. Brewer spoke in favor of designation.
The former New-York Cab Company Stable is a reminder of the time when horse-drawn carriages crowded Manhattan streets. Built in 1888-1890, 318-330 Amsterdam Avenue was one of the earliest commercial stables on the Upper West Side and an example of a utilitarian structure erected in the Romanesque Revival style. It was designed by A. Abbott French, an architect who specialized in speculative residential and commercial work in Manhattan. For a more thorough (and fun) description of the history of this building, go to the LPC site…
On Tuesday, November 14, 2006 the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted against landmark-status for the Dakota Stables in an 8-2 vote. The Commission decided that the building’s owner had received the proper permits to alter the building. Chairman Tierney argued that the Commission had no legal recourse in regard to the work taking place on the former Stable.
The Stables building, as shown in the picture below, has been demolished, although there were those who were pressing for it to be landmarked.
The site is zoned as c2-7A: Commercial.
Contact
The Related Companies
Spokeswoman for Related: Alicia Goldstein
60 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10023
(212) 421-5333
