Here’s one precinct house you won’t mind being locked up in!
The owners of the former Brooklyn Heights precincthouse on Poplar Street say they will convert the former police station into rental apartments by gutting the three-story building and constructing a two-story addition on its roof.
Architect Andrew Fredman, whose 2007 plan to convert the circa-1913 edifice into residences was blocked by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, told The Brooklyn Paper that the rooftop addition would not be visible from Poplar Street.
“[The precinct] has an Italianate roof that sticks out considerably over the front and the sides of the building, so that helps hide the addition considerably,” he said.
Fredman’s project also calls for the “complete historic restoration of the existing façade” of the stationhouse — which would contain about 30 rental apartments and a first-floor medical facility — as well as the conversion of an adjacent one-story garage into a three-story residential building.
“We’re going to be using the language of the existing architecture in a different way,” said the designer.
The proposal to alter the precincthouse, which is between Henry and Hicks streets, sailed passed Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee with a vote of 9-0 on April 15. Two members abstained over concerns about the materials and the visibility of the rooftop addition, according to District Manager Rob Perris.
The next step in the residential conversion will be a vote by CB2’s Executive Committee, followed by a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing.
