New Residential Building to Add Life to Cortlandt Alley

6 Cortlandt Alley today (left) and a rendering of the proposed building, with its Cortlandt Alley entrance. Rendering by TRA Studio; Photo by Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Only a handful of run-down and deserted buildings remain among the flashy conversions of Tribeca. And now there will be one fewer.

An 1855 five-story boarded-up structure at 372 Broadway (be­tween White and Frank­lin streets) that extends to Cort­landt Alley is slated to become an eight-story condominium with a glass-walled penthouse.

Rather than creating an entrance on busy Broad­way, the developers, Im­perial Development Group, wanted quieter comings and goings for their pro­spective buyers.

“By putting it on Cort­landt Alley you’re really taking advantage of a historic and authentic street in Tribeca,” said Imperial’s Vice President Ryan Kap­lan. “It’s a very quiet and private atmosphere for the residents as they come to their building.”

Community Board 1’s Landmarks Com­­mittee gave its advisory approval of the plan, which includes a commercial space that fronts on Broadway. Because the building slopes down, the store would back onto Cortlandt Alley above the  building’s entrance.

If approved by the Land­­marks Commission, the three-story addition to the building will contain a 3,200-square-foot duplex apartment and a single-floor 2,300-square-foot unit, both with outdoor space.

In their presentation to CB1 in De­cember, the de­signers, Rob­ert Traboscia and Caterina Roiatti of TRA Studio, said the glass penthouse was meant to recall the skylights that once were common in the area. “We used the skylight as the link from the past to the present,” Traboscia said.

Kaplan said he expects the project to go before the Landmarks Preservation Com­­mission on Feb. 12.