The developers behind Studio Gang's Solar Carve have withdrawn their request for a zoning variance that would have allowed for an increase in the tower's rentable space. The Board of Standards and Appeals rejected the solicited exception, despite the developer's claim that the expensive pilings necessary for the sandy, non-bedrock site adjacent to New York's High Line posed a "financial hardship."
Studio Gang's 213 foot tower was slated for completion in 2015. Although "the bid for additional floor has been dropped from the application," said the project's land use attorney, a hearing for special permitting that will allow for a modified setback is scheduled for March.
Preservationists, such as the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), have voiced approval of the Board's decision (citing the extent to which the unlandmarked area around the High Line is already threatened by current zoning allowances); however, the GVSHP has said that it has "no objectives to the proposed development setting back differently than the zoning requires."
More information about the Solar Carve Tower, which, as Studio Gang says, demonstrates "the exciting architectural potential of expanded notions of solar-driven zoning," can be found here.
Story via The Observer and The Architect's Newspaper.
