70 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
A West Village stairwell and structural renovation — exposed brick walls cleaned and preserved, original ceiling beams restored, stairs rebuilt in black steel and wood.
70 Grove Street sits in the heart of the West Village, a neighborhood where the buildings are old, the blocks are landmarked, and the standard for renovation work is high. This project took an unusual approach for a West Village address — rather than building a polished residential interior, the work celebrates the building's industrial bones.
Original exposed brick walls were cleaned and preserved as the dominant visible material. Original ceiling beams and joists were exposed and painted matte black, turning structural members into a design feature. The stairwell was rebuilt with black-painted steel and wood treads, navigating multiple levels through the building. The result is a space that reads as loft-industrial in a neighborhood usually associated with townhouse renovations — a deliberately raw, characterful palette that lets the original architecture speak.
Working in Manhattan, especially in a landmarked neighborhood like the West Village, means navigating building rules, freight elevator windows, sidewalk protocols, and the practical realities of getting materials and crews into a tight West Village block. The Zani team handled all of it without making it the homeowner's problem. The finished space is unmistakably West Village — old, characterful, and finished to the level the neighborhood expects.
