355 St. Marks is about to get huge and (probably) butt-fugly

When the ragged little row house at 355 St. Marks (between Washington and Grand) appeared to change hands last fall, it looked as though it was about to get a welcome gut renovation. The three-story building – smallest on the block – had been occupied by a bottle and can collector and appeared to be just this side of condemnation.

This week, when a number of orange surveyor marks appeared on the west wall of its much larger neighbor at 357, it piqued our interest and we checked the DOB filings.

Turns out the owner has bigger plans for 355 – MUCH bigger. The zoning diagram filed in January shows a huge expansion to a five-story, four apartment building that’s 20 feet taller and more than triples the building’s floor space from 2,576 to over 8,000 square feet. Full diagram here: http://bit.ly/Izwwx4

Then I checked the architect’s website and threw up in my mouth. Mozer Architect Design of Gravesend specializes in the sort of frosting-covered, out-of-context cartoon buildings that make you stop in your tracks and wonder “what the hell happened here??” Don’t take my word for it. If you have a strong stomach, click Mozer’s project gallery here: http://bit.ly/IHFJrd

We LOVE seeing developers’ renewed interest in investing east of Washington Ave, but we’re praying Mozer turns over a new leaf with this one…