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'McMansion' Builder to Erect Mid-Rise in UES Historic District

By DNAinfo Staff on October 21, 2010 7:49pm

Luxury home developers, Toll Brothers, hope to build a 15-story, 25-unit luxury building at 132 East 65th Street, but they have to get past the Landmarks Commission first.
Luxury home developers, Toll Brothers, hope to build a 15-story, 25-unit luxury building at 132 East 65th Street, but they have to get past the Landmarks Commission first.
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DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER EAST SIDE — A luxury developer known as the father of the "McMansion" phenomenon purchased a Lexington Avenue property last week, causing locals to worry about the future aesthetic of the neighborhood.

Toll Brothers, the new owners of 132 E. 65th St., announced it would build a 15-story, 25-unit luxury building on the lot, which sits on a block mostly populated by four- and five-story brownstones.

"I think that a 15-story building, without seeing any plans, is probably not going to be a good relationship to what exists right there," said Tara Kelly, executive director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District.

The site's original developer, Trevor Davis, of Davis Development Holdings, tore down a 1922 mansion at the location to make room for a luxury mid-rise, but foreclosed on the property in 2009, OurTown reported.

Neighbors reacted with a campaign to add East 65th Street to the Upper East Side Historic District and were successful this past March, but the plans for the luxury apartment residence were grandfathered into Toll Brothers' purchase.

The loophole saved Toll Brothers from having to present their plans before the Landmarks Preservation Commission for approval, said Elisabeth de Bourbon, a spokeswoman with the commission.

Preservationists said they'd like to work with the developer to find a design that's acceptable for the neighborhood.

"We'll do everything we can to make sure whatever is constructed there is respectful and contextual," Kelly said.

For their part, the Toll Brothers recognize that the neighborhood has a unique character, said Christine Sciarrotta, a spokeswoman for the developer.

"We will be building what was approved, which will closely resemble the existing traditional architecture of this well-known neighborhood," Sciarotta said in a statement.