Extell Wants to Put Topping on 20th Street Parking Garage

Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009 | Updated 9:58 AM EDT

At tomorrow's Landmarks Preservation Commission public meeting, the gatekeepers may finally rule on the fate of Norman Foster's design for 980 Madison Avenue. But anyone who isn't Tom Wolfe may also be interested in an item on the undercard, slated for a scant 10 minutes of discussion at 10am. It's an application for 19-25 West 20th Street (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues), a parking garage and adjacent empty lot safely tucked in the Ladies' Mile Historic District. According to the LPC agenda, someone wants to build a 16-story building on the narrow lot, and connect that to a three-story addition on top of the garage, which was built in 1927. The Real Estate says that the developer leading the charge here is Gary Barnett's prolific Extell. The company paid $28 million for the property last summer, and according to this disapproved DOB application from June, Extell had architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle draw up plans for a residential building with 18 units. Given the garage hangover, this could end up looking very interesting...or it could end up like this. Or, if the LPC wills it, it be nothing at all.
· Landmarks Preservation Commission Public Meeting Agenda [PDF]
· Extell Plans 15-Story Apartment Building on West 20th [TRE]