NOHO — One of the city's hippest architects is designing the new massive luxury retail space replacing one of the city's most highly-regarded homeless shelters.
Annabelle Selldorf, described by Bloomberg earlier this year as "the darling of the design world," submitted an application to the city last week outlining a plan to turn the four-story Center for Urban Community Services women's shelter at 350 Lafayette St. into 13,052 square feet of commercial space for a single retail tenant.
The application was first reported by Bowery Boogie.
The project, referred to as 11 Bond, is expected to cost a little under $3 million, according to the application filed with the Department of Buildings. The area is zoning for manufacturing, so the developer will need to get the permission of the city's Board of Standards and Appeals to have retail below the second story and to have more than 10,000 square feet of retail.
The plan submitted to the DOB involves enlarging the building's fourth floor by 1,460 square feet, and the application states that the work will include partial demolition, or the raising or moving of the building. The area is landmark-protected so the design will have to earn the approval of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The building was bought by developer Aby Rosen over the summer for $27 million. Rosen is also developing a hotel a few blocks south at 11 Howard St., and is turning the graffiti-covered building at 170 Bowery into retail space as well.
CUCS is still looking for a new home for the shelter, which has been praised as "a jewel of the shelter system" for its success in providing transitional shelter and services to women with histories of serious mental illness who are in the process of being placed in affordable housing.
The shelter's director of development said they have several potential sites and are hoping to close on a property soon.
The city's Department of Homeless Services, which vowed to help them relocate, did not respond to an inquiry.
