462 Broadway, Corinthian capitals restored/ Images by PBDW Architects
NEW YORK CITY—Architecture buffs delight. The six-story office and retail building at 462 Broadway was honored with the MASterworks Award, the Municipal Art Society Award for Best Restoration. The building is the largest structure fully clad in cast iron within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. At the corners of Broadway, Grand and Crosby streets, it occupies a double lot, having three street fronts. With the addresses of 462-468 Broadway, the property totals 120,900 square feet according to Real Capital Analytics. Its façade measures 400 linear feet, rising six stories.
Designed by John Carreja and erected in 1880, the structure originally housed Mills & Gibbs' dry goods and is currently leased to a mix of commercial tenants. Since 1981, the building has been owned by Stephen Meringoff and Jay Shidler. It's managed by Meringoff Properties, Inc., an affiliate of the New York City-based real estate investment company Himmel + Meringoff.
The owners, management and architects worked closely with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on the project.
462 Broadway rendering by PBDW Architects
Led by Sam White, architects at PBDW repainted the façade, restored storefronts and cast iron, and replaced double-hung windows. With meticulous testing they identified original paint colors and replaced rusting capitals (the top part of the columns) casting missing parts. The team salvaged or restored more than 1,549 of the original 1,976 cast iron pieces, reviving the 108 leafy Corinthian capitals.
The team states that the 40,000 square feet of a renewed building façade enlivens the district with 400 feet of refurbished storefront animating the streetscape.
The competition submission contended that, “With the ground-floor restored to its original beauty, pedestrians can appreciate the 19th century architectural vocabulary that defines this historic quarter of the city.” An architectural expert tells GlobeSt.com that cast iron not only provided a distinctive decorative quality but also prevented fires from spreading.
Upon receiving the award, chairman of Meringoff Properties Stephen Meringoff stated, “It was important for us to preserve the historical essence and splendor of this property and so many other of the city's treasures.”
Meringoff and his partners own several landmarked properties in New York City. He is a longstanding board member of the New York Landmark Conservancy.
Following the restoration, the building is now nearly fully leased. Only two retail spaces are available. One space is at the corner of Broadway and Grand Street. The other occupies the corner of Crosby and Grand streets.
Buildings and properties completed within the previous year were eligible in this last MASterwork Award competition. The 462 Broadway renovations were completed in May 2018. In November 2018, the building also received the Stanford White Award.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
