177 Montague Street Looks to Add Condos

By on December 11, 2012 12:59 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Landmark Preservation

York & Sawyer’s 177 Montague Street is headed for some changes according to meeting notes from Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee. They approved the plan. This morning, the LPC was scheduled to review the application.

Curbed: Barry Rice Architects is the firm on the project, which calls for 13 condos in the rear annex building. The owners also want to build a one-story rear addition, clean the exterior, replace skylights, remove air conditioners, and add new insulated windows. The main bank hall, which currently hosts a Chase bank, is landmarked inside and out, and it will remain as is.

From the meeting notes:

177 Montague Street-Brooklyn Heights Historic district-Application is to construct a one-story rear yard addition, install a new rooftop air handling units, remove window air conditioning units, clean the exterior, change a window to an entrance, restore a window where a door now exists, and adding a residential entrance canopy. Applicant’s representative believes the repair/replacement of skylights that were closed and installation of new wood insulated windows to match existing will be reviewed at staff level.

Presented by Barry Rice, architect

The premises is a landmark bank building. The building is locate at Montague and Pierrepont Streets. The applicant wishes to add 13 condominium apartments at the rear annex building and maintain the main building banking hall, alter the exterior entrance at the rear, provide an entrance canopy for the new residential portion, clean and repair the metal work and metal windows, and replace wooden sash windows, and work on the courtyard.

The banking hall entrance will remain. Windows that provide light will be restored in place. Most work will be done in annex building. Entrances at Clinton, Montague and Pierrepont Streets will remain. Mr. Rice believes that grills at the windows are not original. A window was made into a door and applicant wishes to restore it back to a door. A new door for the condos will be created. The residential portion will be given a miniature grand hall for the entrance. A canopy made of yellow metal will be added to the residential section. The canopy will be free standing and not attached to the building. Judy Stanton asked about the stairs and Mr. Rice said that the stairs will be restored. Tony lbelli asked about the canopy and Mr. rice said the canopy will be anchored down.

Judy Stanton and Tony lbelli moved to approve the application.
Application approved 10-0-0.

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  • HenryLoL

    Interesting. But jeez — how many people can BH support?? We dont even have 1 good grocery store and you have a wait a 1/2 hour for a bagel.

  • GHB

    Where do you have to wait a half hour for a bagel? If you really do, then you deserve it.

  • Matt

    So wait… is Chase moving out of the building?

  • HenryLoL

    Monty Street bagels at 930 on Sunday has a line out the door.

    Chase is staying on the ground floor.

  • Cranberry Beret

    apparently there’s no end to demand for condos in Brooklyn Heights. just read on brownstoner today some three-bedroom condo on Hicks Street sold for $3.5 million!! that’s a lot of dollars per bedroom

  • Wiley E.

    Someone must really Love Money to want to live inside a bank building. Disgusting.

  • Jorale-man

    As the post explains, it appears Chase would stay and nothing would happen to the main bank building aside from a cleaning – it’s the rear annex that’s supposed to be converted. I can’t picture the annex right now, though I’m intrigued by the “miniature grand hall” entrance.

  • stuart

    psst…it’s York and Sawyer;
    McKim Mead & White had nothing to do with this bank.

  • GHB

    HenryLoL, for my weekend bagel fix, I go to Zucker’s on Chambers Street. Much better bagels than on Montague.

  • Gerry

    This location is a great place to get a cab into Manhattan – 24/7 I can get a cab at Clinton and Montague.

  • Andrew Porter

    This building is a copy of a palace in Venice. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I’m happy to see that it will enter a new stage of life. Many bank buildings have been converted into residences, for instance the former Central Savings Bank building at 73rd Street and Broadway, and a certain really tall building right here in Brooklyn.

    And I buy my bagels on Friday afternoon, to enjoy the following morning. No lines at all.

  • Bugged

    @Andrew Porter Stale bagels, yum….

  • WillowNabe

    Trader Joe’s bagels are far better than the bagels on Montague St.

  • Robert Swartz

    As Stuart noted, it’s a York and Sawyer building, not McKim, Mead and White. Y&S had a thing for banks modeled after Florentine palazzos – they did the Apple Bank/former Central Savings Bank at Broadway and 73rd, as well as the New York Fed on William Street. I was wondering who would move in once the lawyers moved out, and this seems like a good plan.

  • Robert

    Actually, the building was modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Correction as to architects done (now I have to add fact checker to copy editor in my job description).

    According to the Landmarks Conservancy website the interior banking hall is modeled on the tepidarium of the Baths of Caracalla.

  • MonroeOrange

    I think its modeled after the Venetian hotel in Vegas!

  • Mr. Crusty

    Ahhhh yes, the tepidarium of the Baths of Caracala, wasn’t that obvious?