Scarano Booted from Heavy Metal Job on Smith Street

The big news to come out of developer Billy Stein's appearance at the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting last night wasn't even fresh: architect Robert Scarano has been off the job at 360 Smith Street since December. Mr. Scarano, who had designed the early versions of the 360 Smith Street structure that we named the Heavy Metal Building, had become a lightening rod for criticism of the building. He has been replaced by Armand S. Quadrini of KSQ Architects, who also replaced Mr. Scarano on a job at Carroll Street and Fourth Avenue in Park Slope. The working name of the project, which will still rise to 70 feet, is Oliver House. According to a GL Correspondent, Mr. Stein told a large group that included a significant number of reporters, that the change had been a costly one to make. (Mr. Scarano had produced a number of versions of the design for the building as recently as the fall.)

Local blogger Pardon Me for Asking wrote of the new design, which includes a glass tower at the entrance to the Carroll Street subway station that:

last night's meeting actually felt like the community was speaking with one voice. And this is what we all seemed to agree on: Mr. Stein's redesigned building for 360 Smith Street looks better, much better. But there is quite a lot of room for improvement.

One resident we spoke with said that "the proportions are mega sized for these narrow streets" and called it "a monster-sized facade on Smith Street." Elements of the building would actually rise higher than 70 feet with mechanical equipment on the roof. (One architect estimated up to 85 feet.) A building of that height is allowed under current zoning because of an arcane definition of some very narrow streets as being "wide." Construction is slated to start very soon, both to avoid any zoning changes that might occur and to allow the building to qualify for a 421-a tax abatement before changes in that program take place in June.