When Mason Gray’s development team, a new rental building in a leafy block in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, began to conceptualize the project, in its list of priorities it was the need to maintain the aesthetics of the neighborhood.
The building, created by Morris Adjmi Architects, the firm behind the Wythe hotel in Brooklyn and the Rockaway hotel in Queens, is located in the historical district of Crown Heights Norths North II. A conversation in execution with the preservation commission of the reference points helped guide the design.
“I think this project has a lot to do with balance, finding the correct combination of modernity and tradition, and related to the neighborhood,” said Morris Adjmi, the architect. He added: “When we started working on this project, and this went through several iterations, we were trying to find out what was the correct scale and the correct tone.”
The name of the building, Mason Gray, was coined by Jeffrey Gershon in Hopestreet Capital, the developer, as a wink to the construction crafts and the personalized gray color used by the architects Morris AJ.
Mason Gray, in Sterling Place between the avenues of New York and Brooklyn, was built in an old parking lot and green space. It has 158 apartments, from studies to three bedrooms, each with its own clothes, with rentals that start at $ 3,400 per month and rise to $ 5,650. There were 48 units available in a lottery for people whose income was less than 130 percent of the average income of the local area, or from $ 107,246 to $ 218,010, depending on the size of the household. Rentals for such households vary from $ 3,128 for studies at $ 4,001 for two bedroom units. The lottery closed in September and there were more than 15,000 applicants.
Comforts include a gym, gym and patio. Several apartments units also have private outdoor spaces.
“Usually, when you design buildings, many times you design them from the inside out so that your units be as efficient as possible or as good as possible,” said Sha Dinour, a Hopestreet partner. “Here we had to close the envelope first, get the thumbs of the reference points and then start designing the units.”
Mason Gray is adjacent to the Adventist Bilingual School of the Seventh Day of Hebron, a Haitian school that serves immigrant families, and was the old location of the Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Church. That building was designated as a milestone from New York City in 2011.
Part of the Hebron building, which was built at the end of 1800, was shot down to leave space for a patio in Mason Gray.
The plans to renew the school, which served in the nursery to eighth grade students, but has not been used in several years, are underway. Hopestreet Capital will work with Caples Jefferson Architects in renewal.
Mason Gray’s team worked with Meisha Hunter, a preservation consultant at LI/Saltzman Architects, to help navigate the land brand process. A concern, he said, was to adhere to the strict guidelines for projects in historical districts.
“The reference points are looking for an adaptation argument,” said Hunter. “You want to understand why what you want to do is appropriate for this particular building at this time.”
These interviews have been slightly edited for clarity.
Morris Adjmi, architect
We always consider that the context is important for us. This is a very sensitive place, and there were many people focused on this. I think that the process of going through reference points improved the project: it keeps us on the road and also makes us focus on many of the details, what we did here.
I think that the greatest thing we ended up responding was the school and the chapel through work with reference points and through design. We look at this as another set of buildings, almost like a campus.
MEISHA HUNTER, Senior Historical Preservation Consultant at LI/Saltzman Architects
The preservation philosophy that makes a lot of sense for me is that preservation is like recycling, it is as practical as recycling. And what he tries to do is look at every individual situation and try to discover what the adaptation argument for this particular situation is. From a perspective of reference points, what is really important is not to think about preservation such as putting anything under amber or glass; that can never be changed. What is most important is to talk about whether the change is appropriate and what exchange rate is appropriate.
Sha Dinour, partner of Hopestreet Capital
Crown Heights is huge, so there are definitely pockets, but this is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pockets. You have Brower Park and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. We see people who want not necessarily living in the main arteries or the main roads in which they tend to be more busy with the retail presence, and that has been very pleasant to see. I compare it with how people find that West Village is very desirable due to their tranquility, wooded streets and beautiful architecture.
Althea Ffrench, lease agent, Triumph Property Group
I have made people think that this building was renewed, which has been sitting on this earth for a while, and is only the interior that had been remade. As for physically, it seems that it was built in mid -1800. I am obtaining people from the neighborhood, people out of New York and California people who move for work. This neighborhood still has a sensation of Caribbean, and the same is still felt. Many families have lived here for generations and do not leave.
