Located in the heart of SoHo’s Cast Iron Historic District, 120 Mercer Street is a landmarked building whose layered history reflects the evolving character of the neighborhood. Originally designed with Broadway as its public face and Mercer Street as its service entry, the building sits on a through-lot where shifts in grade and use over time have left subtle imprints on its architecture. The project at 120 Mercer was rooted in both preservation and transformation, seeking to restore the building’s original character while preparing the ground floor for a new generation of retail use.

The project began with resetting the concrete retail floor elevation, lowering it five feet to align it with the sidewalk grade on Mercer Street. This careful adjustment reoriented the space toward Mercer, acknowledging its emergence as an active retail corridor and strengthening its connection to the street.

The adaptive restoration of the cast iron façade was a central focus of the work. The glazing was removed and replaced with new, enlarged wood-framed windows, which were fabricated to match the historic frame profiles. The existing cast-iron panels were meticulously evaluated piece by piece to distinguish between historic originals and later replacements. The historic panels were stripped, repaired, and refinished. The sill panels throughout were all surgically removed, catalogued, and modified to suit the enlarged glazing of the adapted storefront. Any non-historic components that were discovered were removed and replaced with newly cast panels, which were carefully fabricated to match the historic profiles. These interventions ensured the façade could be reassembled as a true reflection of its historic condition, while providing a new illuminated storefront, suitable for a high-end retailer.

The building’s expansive ten-foot canopy, a defining feature of its street presence, also required full replacement. Each structural element was reconstructed in kind, while the covering material was reimagined with a contemporary yet considerate gesture: a corrugated resin panel in the exact profile of the historic corrugated metal. Its translucency allows daylight to filter through, brightening the streetscape and bringing a sense of openness and welcome to the retail frontage.

The restoration extended upward to the building’s cornice, where cast iron deterioration was discovered. The team carefully documented and removed damaged components, introduced new structural framing, and restored and reinstalled each ornamental element. This work not only preserved the façade’s visual integrity but ensured the cornice’s stability for decades to come.

Every intervention at 120 Mercer was guided by respect for the building’s landmark status and the architectural traditions of SoHo’s cast iron district. The project balanced precise historic restoration with thoughtful design modifications, creating a renewed facade and retail environment that honors the building’s past while embracing its evolving role in the neighborhood’s future.

Photography by Chris Coe