Overview Seminar Series Case Studies City Briefs CASE STUDIES Rizzo Group is proud of its track record in helping clients obtaining city approvals and variances on challenging development projects. Below are some case studies that provide greater detail into some complex projects that we have assisted on. Case Study 1 Obtaining a Board of Standards and Appeals variance for a residential condominium in SoHo, New York City.   Case Study 2 Obtaining a Board of Standards and Appeals variance for increased floor area in Greenwich Village, New York City.       Case Study 3 Negotiate DOB interpretation that allowed a historic New York City hotel to continue its operations when common opinion required substantial modifications in order to comply with Zoning.   Case Study 4 Work with building ownership to transform the ground floors of a historic and landmarked office building into a multi-floor retail destination. Case Study 1 Client: Lighthouse Real Estate Ventures 350 West Broadway Project: Existing building sat vacant in the heart of SoHo's West Broadway for over thirty years. New owner sought to build a modern residential tower within this manufacturing district, where "as of right" residential use is not allowed. Rizzo Group LLP was hired by Lighthouse to obtain a variance within one year. Challenge: "This particular development was further complicated because our group only had the net lease on the site, with an option to buy. Since we were paying rent monthly, we not only needed the zoning change, but we needed it in a year. Development in SoHo looked daunting with its surrounding Landmarks, fickle community boards and tricky land use issues, but the Rizzo Group brought home solutions" Jeff Ravetz, principle of Lighthouse Real Estate (the developer). Solution: Rizzo Group helped orchestrate a consensus of approval for this unique project. "In order for rational decisions, all issues and constituents must be heard. We volunteered to meet with the Community, and the City early on in the project, in order to find any potential curve balls. We did find some, but they were addressed from Day 1." Stephen Rizzo, Esq., attorney with the Rizzo Group. Rizzo Group succeeded in obtaining approvals for an 11 story residential tower. The approval was obtained in under 1 year. Rizzo Group and the developer, architect (Rogers Marvel) continue to work together on other exciting projects. Back to Top Case Study 2 Client: ReCap Partners 1 Seventh Avenue South Project: The site is in the heart of Greenwich Village, yet it contained an underutilized automotive shop with an oil spill registered with the DEC. The site's R7 Zoning District only allowed for 3.4 FAR, therefore limiting future development to a "townhouse" type structure. Challenges: The developer would have lost money without a significant increase in FAR. The Greenwich Village neighborhood has traditionally been a rallying point for anti-development. Community Board 2 typically opposed all applications for added bulk. In addition, the Developer's due diligence revealed difficult environmental issues which had to be addressed before a residential building was built, or a variance granted. The developer was then in a "chicken or egg" scenario since they would not clean up the site, unless they would get a variance, and they couldn't get the variance unless they had the approval of DEP for a clean up. Solutions: Rizzo Group obtained approval from the BSA to increase the Floor Area allowed by 65%, from the "as of right" 3.4 FAR to the variance approved 5.5 FAR. Approval was conditioned on successfully completing environmental remediation. The key to this project was collecting all the unique obstacles and using them as the solution. After we combined the costs of construction due to the irregular lot size (it was a triangular lot), and the environmental remediation, it became abundantly clear to everyone that the project "as of right" was not feasible. Environmental remediation alone represented 5% of the entire construction project. The Rizzo Group showed these figures to the Community and the Board of Standards and Appeals and mathematically proved that extra Floor Area (air rights) was needed in order to build a project. Secondly, the Rizzo Group negotiated a deal between the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Standards and Appeals, where the extra floor area was granted now, contingent on environmental remediation being performed during construction, as opposed to during the approval phase. This way the developer knew they had the approval for a 5.5 FAR building, as long as they successfully performed the environmental remediation during construction. Back to Top Case Study 3 Client: Rosewood Hotels Carlyle Hotel Project: The legendary hotel in Manhattan's Upper East Side Historic District always existed as Hotels and Apartments all on various floors of the building. Management wanted these uses reflected on the building's Certificate of Occupancy. New ownership also undertook several façade changes which required approvals from a challenging Landmark's Agency. Challenge: The Zoning Resolution does not allow for Use Group 5 (Hotels) and Use Group 2 (Apartments) on the same floor. The Carlyle Hotel, built in the 1930's, always had this use combination, however did not have a Certificate of Occupancy reflecting the concurrent uses. Additionally, the area's Community Board had begun to enforce landmarks regulations that scrutinized façade and other exterior building changes. Solution: While the Certificate of Occupancy did not reflect the Hotel and Apartment uses, Rizzo Group showed that the Zoning Resolution in the 1930's did not differentiate these two uses. Therefore, the floors with Hotel suites and Apartments were "pre existing non-conforming uses". Rizzo Group found historical evidence, including newspaper clippings and old advertisements which proved the continuance and establishment of both uses since the 1930's. We negotiated a variance reconsideration from the Department of Buildings for the Use and attended all public hearings for the façade changes. The hotel got its amended Certificate of Occupancy and Landmarks approval for the façade changes. Back to Top Case Study 4 Client: L&L Acquisitions 195 Broadway Project: New ownership purchased the building and sought ways to find value and increase net operating income from this mostly-occupied and mature commercial office building. A large-scale retail use was proposed for the lobby which would generate significant revenue from this beautiful, yet non-revenue-generating ground floor. Challenge: The Building was calendared for Landmark Designation and also had several egress and Fire Protection challenges. Building a retail destination required significant construction that would require Landmarks approval, and also cause changes in the building occupant's current egress path through the existing lobby. Solution: This project required input from all practice areas of the Rizzo Group. The solution came by producing a retail concept that married Landmarks suggestions, with Fire Code and Egress Computations. Glass walls with a sprinkler deluge system were introduced to provide a 2 hour fire separation, yet not disturb the aesthetic of the existing lobby design. Rizzo Group recommended "de commissioning" an unused stair and converted the building to new code egress computation. Rizzo Group, along with the architect, Gabellini & Associates attended meetings with Landmarks and the Department of Buildings in order to find a workable solution. Back to Top   Copyright ©2006, Rizzo Group. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.