Zoning Board Approves Apartment Building With One Ceremonial Floor

The Juliard Zoning Board voted Friday to approve a 31-story apartment building with one ceremonial floor, clearing the way for a downtown tower that officials said will honor the idea of livable space without reducing the number of units available to people who can already pay for them.

The project, proposed for the corner of Daven and Ninth, includes 412 apartments, ground-floor retail, a rooftop amenity deck, and a nonresidential floor reserved for reflection, ribbon cuttings, and controlled yearning. The ceremonial floor will contain hallway carpet, door numbers, framed renderings of possible couches, and one kitchen island behind glass.

"The board believes in density, feasibility, and the occasional empty hallway that reminds people what was considered," said zoning chair Calder Wex after the vote. "Not every floor has to be literal."

Developer North Spire Living said the ceremonial floor was added after months of public comment about affordability, neighborhood character, and whether anyone involved in the project had recently seen a normal closet.

A Symbolic Amenity

According to planning documents, tenants may visit the floor once per lease term after signing a form acknowledging its symbolic square footage. The visit will last no more than eight minutes, or 12 minutes for households that can prove they have read the inclusionary housing memo without becoming tired.

The floor will not contain bedrooms, bathrooms, or working outlets. Officials said this will prevent confusion among residents who may mistake the space for a place where a person could live.

"It is important that the floor remain unused in a meaningful way," said Hal Meryn, North Spire's vice president for community gestures. "If people begin using it practically, it loses the value that made it acceptable."

The company said the floor will be open for school tours, press previews, and quarterly ceremonies during which elected officials may stand beside a sealed model sink and say they heard the concerns.

Public Comment

Housing advocates criticized the approval, arguing that a ceremonial floor does not address rising rents, displacement, or the tendency of new buildings to describe themselves as communities before anyone has brought in a chair.

"This is not housing," said Lena Orr of the Juliard Tenant Coalition. "It is a hallway where housing was introduced as a theme."

Nearby property owners offered more cautious support, saying the empty floor appeared tasteful, restrained, and unlikely to invite additional schoolchildren. Several asked whether its windows could be dimmed at night so the building would not project visible longing into adjacent bedrooms.

The board added conditions requiring North Spire to keep the floor empty, submit annual reports on unmet expectations, and prohibit storage of actual hope without a permit.

Construction is expected to begin this fall, once the developer selects a neutral paint color for the community's compromises and confirms that the ceremonial floor can be marketed without becoming available.