All renderings by DSX Studio

A developer has engaged a design firm to create a one-story swimming pool on the trapezoidal parking lot at Worth and Hudson — a space that will have a maximum height of 18 feet due to easements purchased nearly four decades ago by the three neighboring buildings.

Ariston Group, described as “the global expert in heating and water heating,” has taken the lease of 74 Hudson to create a swimming pool that the designers, DXA Studio, said would be used for children’s swim lessons. (DSX restored 7 Harrison, the brick, terra cotta and cast iron building on the southwest corner of Staple, including a glass and steel addition on the roof.) The pool will be shallow, and there may be a mezzanine for watching the swimmers or for additional tenants, though that is still up for grabs. I did not catch this myself while watching the meeting on YouTube, but some commenters said the tenant would be Goldfish Swim School.

Each building bordering the site — 90 Hudson, 1 Worth and 10 Leonard — has its own easement, and while each is a little different, it seems to me the upshot is they have to allow for “unrestricted light and air” above 18 feet with some exceptions such as parapet walls and a bulkhead for either a stair or elevator — but those have to be 30 feet away from the other buildings. The roof cannot be developed, and new local laws require it to be sustainably developed with either solar panels or greenery, which would likely mean sedum panels.

Since this is in the Tribeca West Historic District, the plan will ultimately have to be approved by the Landmarks Commission. There had been a building plan approved previously (image below), but that approval has expired. (In the early 1900s, there was a three-story wood-frame commercial building that housed a butcher.)

The current design shows precast brick-colored arches, which the architects came to by scrolling through the tax photos from the 1940s, as well as other one-story historic buildings and buildings that Landmarks had approved recently to get some tips. their inspiration was in the arches and colonnades around the neighborhood, as well as the terracotta facades.

Neighbors from the adjoining sites and across the street were almost exclusively opposed to the plan, and so the committee said it would be writing a negative resolution with a strong recommendation that the developer get together with the neighbors — specifically the three buildings that have easements — to agree on the rules and plans.

Community Board 1’s full board meeting will vote on that resolution on Nov. 24.

(I have to admit that by the end I was scrolling, so if you want to listen to every word, go to YouTube here.)