It’s been a while — since March — that I had an update on the plans for 101 Franklin, the former Human Resources Administration and Department of Social Services building at 250 Church, and in that time they received approval from the city, added a few floors and started the sales process with a website soliciting interest.

The plan for the building is 72 units (two- to five-bedrooms) in a 21-story, 314-foot (including mechanicals — 261 without) envelope. The building architect is Tribecan Steven Harris’ firm, Steven Harris Architects, with interiors by Rees Roberts + Partners. (Harris has lived in the neighborhood since 1978.) The expected completion date is 2029. (That’s 14 stories so far in the image above.)

This is a conversion of course — the original building was 17 stories, 209 feet and was occupied largely by city agencies. The structure will rise up straight from the street to 11 stories on the northern portion and 15 stories on the southern portion, then set back 10 feet from Church Street and 15 feet from Leonard Street to then rise again to 21 stories (you can kind of see the setbacks above). There will be 2500 square feet of retail space and about 15 parking spaces stacked underneath and accessible through a curb-cut on Leonard.

The previous building had a fire court in the back which is being expanded for residential use to allow light and air.

There was discussion when the project came before Community Board 1 about the shadows cast on Barnett Newman Triangle and Finn Square, but the environmental review came to the conclusion that the shadows would hit the parks only in small areas for a limited duration, so it would not affect the enjoyment of those open spaces.

Rendering credit: Visualisation One

Rendering credit: Visualisation One