Biography Story: Greenwich House

Founded in 1902, Greenwich House started as a settlement house for new immigrants and has now grown into one of Manhattan’s oldest and most trusted community organizations. Originally created to help newcomers adjust to life in New York City, it has since evolved into a vital arts-focused institution serving low-income New Yorkers. Its most popular programs include their music school, pottery lessons, and theater workshops. Over the years, it has expanded to include childcare, social services, and other community programs, adapting to meet the needs of its changing neighborhood.

A landmark in the Greenwich Village, the historic Federal style building at 27 Barrow Street serves as the headquarters for Greenwich House and is the center of its campus. Since it was built in 1917, the building has housed many of the programs offered by the organization, becoming a staple in the neighborhood. In recent years the changes and additions of programs have become mismatched to the available space in the building, making it difficult to operate efficiently. To address this challenge, Greenwich House asked Urban Quotient to assist in testing the feasibility of acquiring and developing a new building. 

2021 – Initial massing & zoning feasibility

UQ first began working with Greenwich House when a site directly across the street from 27 Barrow Street went on the market. The proximity of this triangular site at 18 Barrow Street created a generational opportunity to expand the organization’s footprint while keeping its programs in the neighborhood. Starting in 2021, UQ began a series of massing and zoning studies to explore potential uses for the site and different programmatic possibilities.

These studies included developing a standalone community facility on the site and a mixed-use scenario with a commercial ground floor. The site’s unusual geometry posed some challenges but also created some unique opportunities for a visually striking and appealing design. UQ developed three design approaches, each with different strategies for activating the ground floor.

• Commercial: Carves out the ground floor with commercial space.
• Air rights: Uses the full floor plan for commercial space while also using the air rights of the neighboring residential building. This allowed us to make the building taller.
• Carve out: Cuts a space on the ground floor, inviting the street into the building.

Two of these schemes were chosen for a test fit identifying two alternative programmatic directions: a nursery school and Health and Human Services.  The selected program included a dedicated ground-floor for a nursery school and daycare, multipurpose rooms for rental on the second floor, office spaces on the fourth floor, and a rooftop play area. Our previous experience developing a childcare center and conversations with staff helped inform many programmatic decisions and a layout for the nursery school.

In 2024, we were approached again to investigate another historic property, the music school at 46 Barrow Street. Greenwich House tasked us with proposing a set of renovation strategies for their existing building that would bring the facility up to code and improve the quality and functionality of the spaces.

2024 – Music School

The music School located at 46 Barrow Street has been as cornerstone of the organization’s arts programs since its inception. A historic landmark in the Greenwich Village, the Music School has been operating since 1905 offering music lessons to children in the neighborhood. When Greenwich House originally acquired the property, the two adjoining townhouses were combined to house the music school. The school and building are beloved by the community and have great charm; however, over time, the building has become outdated and no longer meets code. The awkward existing layout had also forced the organization to fit all their services into sometimes cramped or inadequate spaces, contorting themselves to the oddities of a pair of century-old townhouses. Having recognized the need for change, UQ was asked to propose a few renovation strategies as well as potential alternatives to envision how the music school could be run in the future.

Through research and discussions with faculty we explored how a repositioned layout could better support suit the needs of faculty and students. With that in mind, we developed a range of possibilities based on their needs of the school. 

Renovate the existing building: 

• Scheme A: Includes a gut renovation of the interior while maintaining the existing exterior envelope. This direction would not change the volume of the building. 
• Scheme  B: Extend the top two floors to the back wall, adding usable square footage without increasing height or reducing rear yard space. 
• Scheme C: Add an extra floor in the back and a 10-foot rear extension.

Another alternative strategy was to move the music school into a new building at 18 Barrow Street. Using our detailed programming analysis and knowledge of the school gained from the renovation studies, the design proposal for the new music school would increase the available square footage for most of the programs and provide additional rentable space. Among the different program layouts presented to the organization:

• One proposed a performance space to be partially below grade and visible to the street so that pedestrians could see in and view the artists performing within.

Whether Greenwich Houses decides to renovate or build new, both options require a flex space for the music school while it is under construction. As part of this study, we also designed a temporary space for the music school on the fifth floor at the 27 Barrow St headquarters.

After reviewing all three scenarios, Greenwich House needed to understand the costs associated with each before moving forward with any of the options. To help with this, UQ brought in Consigli Construction to develop cost estimates. Consigli has significant expertise in building cultural facilities in New York City with public financing and has expertise in theaters and performance spaces. Together, we developed a budget for each of the scenarios. As the board reviews its options, it is likely that Greenwich House will continue to move towards funding a new building, leveraging their profile and deep community roots to obtain public funding for a new facility. What began as a one-off feasibility consultation has since evolved into a growing partnership. This process has strengthened our relationship with Greenwich House and is the latest example of UQ’s commitment to its clients and to the long and often unpredictable path towards a better urban realm.