Tribeca’s Iconic Pearl Paint Buildings Are Going Residential
Back in 2014, New Yorkers lamented the shuttering of Pearl Paint, the legendary 80-year-old art retailer that had been located on the border of Tribeca and Chinatown since 1933. Any self-respecting artist, architect, or designer will surely remember trudging up the six flights of creaking floor boards and hunting down bargain-priced supplies, but this will soon become an even more distant memory as just yesterday, Trans World Equities filed permits to convert one of Pearl Paint’s former buildings into eight residential units and build a two-story addition above the 150-year-old structure at 308 Canal Street.
The filing hints that the unit breakdown will be, you guessed it, condos! The block-through structure, with an alternate address at 55 Lispenard Street, is envisioned to have a commercial space at ground level, two apartments per floor on levels two through four, and two duplex residences sharing the hoped-to-be-constructed fifth and sixth floors. The addition is proposed to add 21 feet in height to the 57-foot building and 3,500 square feet in additional floor area. The architect of record is listed as Paul A. Castrucci Architect, whose prior projects include the energy efficient rental known as the Rivington Street Building and a three-unit condominium at 951 Pacific Street.
The Italianate building, still drenched in Pearl Paint’s iconic red and white colors, is within the Tribeca East Historic District and will need to muster approvals from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to move forward. According to the designation report, 308 Canal was constructed between 1864-65 for James and Thomas Goadby, manufacturers of iron grates.
The larger neighboring structure at 304-306 Canal Street, that held the bulk of Pearl Paint’s operations, was purchased by Vornado Realty Trust for $16.4 million, and permits were filed last year by architects Formactiv to convert that 12,000-square-foot building into four full-floor apartments.
Find future listings for 55 Lispenard/308 Canal Street at CityRealty.
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