http://www.nypost.com/seven/04272009...pes_166465.htm
HIGH HOPES
MEATPACK TOWER UP FOR VOTE
This rendering shows the plan for a 13-story tower at 13th and Washington streets.
By TOM TOPOUSIS
April 27, 2009
Darryl Romanoff started working in Manhattan's meat industry when he was a teenager, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
But now that the industry is high-tailing it from Manhattan's now-trendy Meatpacking District, Romanoff wants to turn one of the family's plants into a 13-story tower.
"We're not a fly-by-night developer that swoops in because the neighborhood is hot," said Romanoff, whose family has been entrenched in the district for more than 80 years.
Romanoff's proposal for 13th and Washington streets goes before the city's Board of Standards and Appeal tomorrow, when he will ask for approval to build four stories higher than local zoning allows.
Romanoff said the added costs of building next to and under the High Line, coupled with the environmental clean-up that's needed, mean that he can't build a smaller tower that's economically viable.
The project has the support of the neighborhood's commercial property owners, including fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.
"The Romanoffs are the first family of the Meatpacking District and they went out of their way to make sure this building fits in nicely with the community," she said.
The project faces some opposition. Community Board 2 generally approved of the project, although it had concerns about the size.
"We think it would fit nicely in the fabric of the neighborhood," said Romanoff, adding that tenants would be from creative fields. "It's not going to be Midtown law firms coming down here."