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Commission adopts signage master plan for Starrett-Lehigh Building's Eleventh Avenue facade
Summary
The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a master plan permitting up to three nonilluminated tenant signs on the Eleventh Avenue fin wall of the Starrett-Lehigh Building, with limits on dimensions, placement and materials to preserve the building's architectural character.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Aug. 5 approved a signage master plan that establishes parameters for future tenant identification on the Eleventh Avenue facade of the Starrett-Lehigh Building (601 West 26th Street), an individual landmark in the West Chelsea Historic District.
Julie Rosen of Higgins Quasbarth and Partners and Carly Auclair of owner RXR presented the plan, which confines tenant signage to an LPC-approved aluminum fin wall on Eleventh Avenue. The master plan allows a maximum of three tenant signs on the southernmost 18 feet of that fin wall; each sign may be one or two lines, no taller than 15 inches, formed of 1/4-inch pin-mounted painted aluminum characters (white finish), non-illuminated, and pinned to avoid interfering with Con Ed access doors behind the fins.
Rosen emphasized that the fin wall spans 88 feet 7 inches along Eleventh Avenue and that the signage area is a limited portion of that expanse. The installation method avoids raceways and will preserve access to Con Ed doors; the applicant said they have coordinated with the fin manufacturer for future repairs and removals.
RXR told commissioners the master plan responds to market demand from larger tenants seeking visibility and brand identity while preserving the building's architectural integrity. Manhattan Community Board 4 recommended approval with a request to exclude logos; the applicant and commission found allowing logos within the master-plan limits reasonable for major tenants and consistent with other signage approvals at the building.
Commissioners described the proposal as modest relative to the building's scale and consistent with past commission decisions on large adaptive-reuse warehouses. The commission adopted the master plan by recorded vote; seven members voted in favor and none opposed.
The approval establishes the maximum sign counts, sizes and locations and requires that final installation be pin-mounted to the fins and coordinated with staff if repairs are needed in the future.
