When Steven Holley discovered his 1834 Greek Revival townhouse in Brooklyn Heights, it appeared virtually like divine intervention.
“It had been owned by the Roman Catholic Church for about a hundred years, and the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor had been living there since 1969,” mentioned Mr. Holley, 63, a companion on the regulation agency Sullivan & Cromwell.
Beaten up, stripped of many interval particulars and lower right into a warren of tiny rooms, the townhouse was prepared for an entire overhaul — precisely the form of undertaking he needed.
“I went with my friend Sharon to look at the place one Saturday morning, after the nuns had moved back to Rome,” he mentioned. “There was a dreamcatcher on a door and a rock carved with the word ‘hope,’ and she said, ‘Oh my God, the nuns’ hopes and dreams are still here.’”
Chasing his personal dream of an immaculate townhouse, Mr. Holley signed a contract to purchase the property for about $5.5 million in March 2015, then waited for approval from the Holy See within the Vatican earlier than closing on the property that July.
There was only one provision within the deed that gave him pause. “It says that the house cannot be used to perform or promote abortion, euthanasia or paid pornographic performance,” he mentioned.
As a lawyer, he was cautious of such an uncommon add-on. “I didn’t want to sign this, but then somebody said to me, ‘Well, what difference does it make?’” he mentioned. “And, of course, what judge in Brooklyn is ever going to enforce such a crazy provision?”
He proceeded with the acquisition and employed Deborah Berke Partners, the structure agency that designed his seaside home in Quogue, N.Y., to assist restore the house to its former glory whereas updating the inside to replicate 21st-century dwelling.
The undertaking represented a major departure from Mr. Holley’s earlier main residence, a 4,000-square-foot loft close to Union Square that had been renovated by Hanrahan Meyers Architects within the 1990s, in a method so spare and open — with solely glass partitions between rooms — that it was featured in “The Un-Private House,” a 1999 exhibition on the Museum of Modern Art.
In Brooklyn Heights, Mr. Holley seemed ahead to dwelling in a quieter neighborhood, and in a house with softer touches and historic particulars. Deborah Berke Partners developed a plan to revive the red-brick constructing, which is in a historic district, to its authentic design on the outside, whereas constructing a small addition on the roof that’s set again from the entrance facade so it will possibly’t be seen from the road. Inside, the architects aimed to strip every little thing all the way down to the studs and joists, together with eradicating the outdated staircase, to begin recent.
“With these townhouses, one tends to feel a little reverential,” mentioned Arthi Krishnamoorthy, the lead companion on the undertaking. “But in this case, because of the house’s pre-renovated state, and it having been cut up into small rooms, we felt at liberty to rethink it from first principles, and perhaps even make it more like its original self. That’s not to say we did a historicist replica of what might have been there. We developed an architectural language that was rooted in the Greek Revival style, but has a real crisp and contemporary take to it.”
Details embrace muscular crown molding, wall paneling, window and door casings, and built-in shutters, all with easy, sharp-edged profiles that stroll a positive line between conventional and trendy. A brand new staircase with a sinuous black handrail slides up by way of the house’s 4 tales. Fireplace mantels are adorned with thick monumental slabs of Grigio Carnico marble, and partitions are coated in calming shades of grey, tan and blue.
On the roof, the architects created two out of doors areas — a terrace instantly off the den and a deck one story greater — with views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Yet there was one impediment that threatened to derail the undertaking: Even after navigating the complexities of shopping for property from the Roman Catholic Church, Mr. Holley wasn’t absolutely ready for coping with New York City’s Department of Buildings.
“The upper floor became a mini war,” he mentioned, when the division questioned whether or not the present attic bedrooms had been liveable area that could possibly be renovated. The disagreement delayed building by a few 12 months, he mentioned, however his design crew lastly prevailed after combing by way of microfiche to seek out plans for the home from the early 20th century, which confirmed the attic as liveable area.
Construction lastly started in February 2017, and the 4,900-square-foot reimagined townhouse was full in June 2019, at a price of about $750 a sq. foot.
Through all of it, Mr. Holley, who has lengthy had an curiosity in artwork, structure and design, relished hashing out the smallest particulars, from the kitchen cupboards to the paint colours.
“I actually thought about being an architect and went to architecture school for one semester, but wasn’t really sure I wanted to spend my life doing plumbing details,” he mentioned. “I’m a very active client.”
Ms. Krishnamoorthy mentioned that hands-on involvement led to a greater outcome. “This is a combined vision,” she mentioned. “I think the art, the architecture and the furnishings all come together symphonically.” And the track the townhouse sings now not appears impressed by a hymnal.
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