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LOFTS BUYING [[image]] FIXING [[image]] LIVING [[image]] Time was when the urban utopia - as envisioned by planners, politicians, and real estate interests - consisted of neatly packaged and sharply defined zones. Live in this area, work in that place, and shop in between. The conversion of commercial loft space once used chiefly for light manufacturing into living quarters is a promising break in this unnatural pattern. The earliest loft conversions, dating back to the early Sixties, were undertaken illegally by visual and performing artists, who saw in the iron front buildings of Hell's Hundred Acres the large and relatively inexpensive space they needed to live and work. Since 1971, when loft living was legalized for certain areas of the city, the desire for space, the attractions of bohemia and the vagaries of fashion have enticed many non-artists to settle in Soho, Noho, Tribeca and, more recently, Chelsea and Brooklyn lofts. The articles that follow are not, we hope, more-than-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-lofts, but, rather, a series of suggestions - some advice, some encouragement, and some warnings from loft-wise people: a lawyer, a contractor, a realtor, and some residents. If you're tired of two rooms and a kitchenette, but Westchester is just not for you, read on. Soho and Noho Soho and Noho were the first areas set aside for the conversion of lofts into artists' living-working quarters and will probably be the only areas reserved for artists. Eventually the Department of City Planning will produce its long-promised zoning plan for loft conversion throughout the city, but right now, Soho, Noho and Washington Market are the only industrial zones where lofts can be converted to residential use without a special permit from the Board of Standards and Appeals. (See box p. 14 on AIR loft-living permits in residential and commercial zones.) The original Soho legislation was passed in 1971 - a good eight years after artists had started converting lofts illegally - and was later amended in April 1976 to include Noho and to extend specific provisions to protect industry. The key to the Soho/Noho law is its definition of artists as manufacturers who need the large spaces of loft buildings, and have incomes too low to allow separate living and working quarters. In Soho and Noho, conversions to living-work quarters is allowed in buildings up to 5,000 square feet in lot coverage, except on Broadway, where the maximum is 3600 square feet. (The size limitation is designed to protect the larger spaces for industrial use.) The minimum size for lofts is 1200 square feet. In buildings of less than 1200 square feet, only one loft per floor is allowed. Living-work lofts are not permitted below the third floor except by special permit. The ground floor is supposed to be reserved for businesses that need direct access to the street. The second floor must have a commercial, nonresidential tenant. These provisions can be waived by special permit from the City Planning Commission under the following conditions: if the second floor provision interferes with laws governing cooperatives; if the second floor was occupied by an artist before January 28, 1976; or if no mandated tenant can be found after a "good faith" search of six months (for buildings up to 3600 square feet) or a year (for buildings between 3600 and 5000 square feet). The CPC also makes allowances if the waiting period threatens the economic stability of the building. Sculptors or other artists doing heavy work are considered desirable second-choice tenants for the ground floor. A permit has to be granted by the CPC and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Legal residence requires professional certification by the Artists Certification Committee of the Department of Cultural Affairs (on this, see the box on this page). Non-artists resident in Noho prior to January 28, 1976, before the law took effect, can remain, but they must register with the Artists Certification Committee. TRIBECA The Washington Market - also known as Tribeca, or the triangle below Canal Street - area is called the Special Lower Manhattan Mixed Use District and is divided into three sections: Area A, Area B1, and Area B2. Zoning for this area allows, for the first time in New York City, conversion of loft spaces into residential units not restricted to artists. This new kind of unit is called a loft dwelling, and is probably the prototype of long-promised zoning for Chelsea, midtown Manhattan and other parts of the city. Loft dwellings are permitted in all sections of the district. In Area A residential conversion is permitted in all buildings, while in B1 and B2, conversions are allowed in buildings 5,000 square feet of lot coverage or less. Environmental standards are more lenient in Zone B1, partly because of its proximity to the Holland Tunnel. Loft buildings can be developed as loft dwellings or living-work quarters, but the two types of housing units can't occur in the same building. The acceptable size of loft dwellings is determined by the amount of light and air available. The greater the window area and open space around the building, the smaller the living unit can be. All the units in any one building must average out to 1,000 square feet. In the two buildings that have already been planned for loft dwellings, the smallest units have been 850 to 900 square feet, about the size of a brownstone, and the largest unit 1400 feet, according to Jeff Bliss, one of the city planners responsible for the zoning plan. First and second stories of buildings with loft dwellings must be used for manufacturing and commercial purposes. Entertainment and retail businesses are allowed on Chambers, Greenwich, West, Hudson, and Canal Streets and on West Broadway. In buildings with 15 or more living units, 30 percent of the roof area has to be developed for recreational use unless the CPC grants special dispensation. Minor exceptions from the law can be sought from the Commissioner of Buildings and the City Planning Commission, with a copy of such a request to the community board, which can choose to comment within a month. The CPC also gets a copy of applications filed with the Board of Standards and Appeals and the Buildings Department. --Roz Kramer
