Tomorrow (Saturday, October 22), Trinity Church will unveil the results of its unprecedented experiment in radically inclusive dialog about the structure it plans to build at 74 Trinity Place. The process began in February, 2015, when it invited the Lower Manhattan community to help determine the form and use of a new skyscraper it will soon erect at 74 Trinity Place.
In a series of five public charrettes (billed as “community conversations”) since, Trinity’s rector, the Rev. Dr. Bill Lupfer, and representatives from Pelli Clarke Pelli, the architectural firm retained by the church, have solicited suggestions, narrowed and refined concepts, and incorporated ideas from people attending the sessions.
While the community conversations (each of which drew more than 100 local residents) progressed, the Jazz Age skyscraper that once occupied the site was razed (along with a smaller building next door, at 68 Trinity) to make way for the planned structure.
The most recent plan for Trinity’s new building envisions a ten-floor pedestal at the building’s base, which will include 98,000 square feet of space for community and public use, with 15 floors of office space above.
At the most recent charrette, held in February, the plan had evolved into a 25-floor, 145,000-square-foot mixed-use building, in which more than 65 percent of the space will be allocated to public or community uses. Under this version of the plan, the first ten floors (or some 98,000 square feet) of the new structure will be given over to classrooms, athletic facilities, a restaurant, and conference rooms. The balance of the space will be offices used by the church, with some small suites rented to startup companies.
Tomorrow’s charrette will review the process and unveil the design that has resulted. The session will be held at St. Paul’s Chapel (209 Broadway, at the corner of Vesey Street), and will begin at 10:00 am. All interested members of the public are invited to attend.