By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — It took them three tries to get there, but major developer Vornado Realty Trust has won its bid to drastically alter the former Manufacturers Trust Bank building, just two months after its interior was granted landmark status.
The developer asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow it to make major changes to the famous modernist building at West 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue, including demolishing the bank's historic vault and adding two new entrances to accommodate the country's first outpost of Canadian clothing retailer "Joe Fresh."
The building's ground and second floors were designated landmarks in February and its exterior was added back in 2007.
The commission had been expected to vote on the controversial proposal in mid-March but delayed its decision, citing concerns with the design, including a plan to relocate two escalators so they criss-cross instead of run parallel, which they opposed.
Vornado returned to the commission a second time last week, but was again sent back to the drawing board after commissioners raised more concerns about two new entrances set to be built on Fifth Avenue.
But this week, the commission voted 8-to-0 in favor of a final plan, which includes more restoration work as well as parallel escalators and doors that can be easily removed if the plan is ever reversed.
"The most important thing we all have to remember now is that this building is going to come to life again," Commissioner Joan Gerner said in a statement.
"Adaptive reuse is part of life in the city but it's wonderful that that can happen and that the building can live again in its splendor," she said.
Commissioner Diana Chapin agreed, adding, "Our buildings are used. They're not museums."
