DNA Info reports on last week’s community presentation by Aurora Capital of their plans for massive new buildings on the south side of Gansevoort Street:

Just 10 minutes into describing a new Gansevoort Street development, the architect’s presentation was already going off the rails.  Harry Kendall, a partner at BKSK Architects, broke off mid-sentence from the first slide and turned to a cluster of women.

“Don’t shake your head,” he urged, offering an anecdote about his jury duty service that morning.  “The underlying basis of our justice system is innocent until proven guilty,” he said, drawing a few laughs before the women interrupted with a chorus of “Guilty!”  Kendall said it was “disconcerting” and “unkind” of the women to judge his plan so quickly…

The meeting represented Aurora’s attempt to woo skeptical locals, who had loosely organized under the banner Save Gansevoort.  “We’re hoping to position the block as multiple luxury retail tenants,” said Jared Epstein of Aurora, the developer of several buildings nearby including one on Ninth Avenue where a construction worker was killed in April.  “Gansevoort Street has been a blight on the community,” Epstein continued to gasps and grumbling. “There’s nightclubs there. There are buildings that have been boarded up.”

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The Greenwich Village Society For Historic Preservation has sent a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission strongly urging that they reject the proposal from Aurora Capital to build a massive mall development on landmarked Ganseoort Street. We couldn’t say it better ourselves:

The current plan, which would involve the demolition of two buildings on Gansevoort Street, the construction of two new buildings, one at the corner of Washington and Gansevoort Street reaching approximately 120 feet in height, and the addition of four stories on top of the iconic row of two story market buildings at 60-68 Gansevoort Street, runs completely contrary to the entire purpose of the designation of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, and would destroy many of the very features the district is intended to celebrate and preserve. As the organization which originally proposed and, along with many others, fought for the designation of this district, we would find the approval of this plan or any plan which includes these basic components a tragic and devastating blow not only to the Gansevoort Market Historic District, but to landmark designation and historic preservation in New York City.

Gansevoort Street forms the heart of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, and its cobblestoned street surrounded by low-scaled market buildings encapsulates exactly what is so unique, visually pleasing, and historically significant about the Meatpacking District. This proposal would erase many of these key elements and features. Transforming the row of two-story market buildings at 60-68 Gansevoort Street into a six-story building merged with a new, adjoining 8-story, 120 foot tall structure would completely change the scale and feel of this block which serves as a gateway for thousands of people each day to and from the Meatpacking District, the rest of the West Village, the High Line, the Whitney Museum, and the Hudson River Park.

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The headline says it all:

Concerned residents living in and near the district packed a room above the Gansevoort Market food court on the evening of Tues., Aug. 18, to hear the developer’s proposal for a row of new buildings that will reach up to eight stories and replace some of the one- and two-story market buildings that currently line the block, between Greenwich and Washington Sts.

“I think Gansevoort St. has been a blight for the community,” Jared Epstein, vice president and principal at Aurora Capital Associates, told the meeting.

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There was a GREAT turnout for the community meeting with the Gansevoort Towers developer; the room was packed. The project is even worse than we thought. Our guesses about the heights of the buildings were close (they will be about 111′ and 88′) but we were surprised by how massive they are – these things are ugly.  We’ve posted all the details of the project on our Proposed Gansevoort Towers page.