55 Third Avenue

55, 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, New York, NY, United States

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55 Third Avenue

55, 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, New York, NY, United States

Firm

Bromley Caldari Architects, PC

Type

Residential › Multi Unit Housing

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2015

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

Photos

Mikiko Kikuyama (18), Bromley Caldari Architects (1)

BROMLEY CALDARI ARCHITECTS have waved a magic wand and given a new lease on life to a tired, East Village rental building. The formerly beige brick, punched opening 1980’s special has been transformed into a metallic gray sparkler with ribbon windows and a jaunty fiber cement decorative screen.

To achieve this newness, the architects stained the beige brick with a magnesium-based silver gray stain, and removed non-necessary, non-loadbearing piers to provide continuous openings for new ribbon windows. Apartments that were formerly dark and cramped suddenly explode with light and amazing views of the city.

Further refreshments include dispelling the existing cookie cutter five one-bedroom floor plan and rearranging the space for a mix of three one-bedrooms, a studio, and a two-bedroom unit. On the third floor two units were combined to create a ‘mega-unit’ with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a powder room, a larger kitchen and living room, and a private garden on the annex roof. Everything is new from wiring to plumbing fixtures, wood floors to WiFi.

To make things sweeter a new three story addition was added in the former side yard to house a new sexy, secluded building entrance, a second floor residents-only gym and a third floor yoga/meditation room. The gym opens to the second floor setback roof, now re-imagined to be an urban oasis on Third Ave. Resplendent with plantings and furniture the roof is a now a shared, quiet, hang-out space right above the street for all the tenants’ use.

Bromley Caldari has upgraded the bottom line as well. The improved multi-unit residential building was fully rented within one month of the rental start and was an economical renovation with an eye toward maximum return. Light-filled living spaces, multiple amenities for the residents, and high quality materials have ensured the building’s aesthetic and economic success while beautifully transforming this Village corner.