In order to win special-use permits for a 100-unit, high-end condo project at 201 Avon St., New York-based architect Randolph Croxton spent dozens of hours last year before various city boards, from the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) to City Council. Long conversations took place—with the BAR on the materials and the exterior aesthetics, with the Planning Commission on the definition of mixed-use, with virtually every board on the sheer size of the building. Croxton seemed confident at most of these meetings, often invoking his previous experience with "green" building and emphasizing how environmentally friendly this project would be.
 201 Avon St. will become a could-have-been if developers don’t act by October. |
In the end, he won approval for a behemoth building that would nestle in between the railroad tracks and Friendship Court, wrapping around the Beck-Cohen building on the southeastern side of Downtown. With out-of-town financing, it appeared initially that 201 Avon St. would be the first to go up among a slate of nine-story buildings in the works.
But time is running out on Croxton and the developers he represented, Ideal Ventures, LLC. The site plan for 201 Avon St. expires in October, unless developers file for building permits by then.
Moreover, the property is not yet in the developers’ hands. Stu Rifkin, brokering agent for the parcel, says the site is still for sale. The last price on record was $2.65 million, according to Rifkin.
Calls to Croxton were not returned.
Previous coverage:
BAR relents on nine-storey building [December 26, 2006]
City Planners accept nine-storey building [October 17, 2006]
Nine-storey, south Downtown development deferred [September 18, 2006]
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