The following regulations shall apply along the south side of Surf Avenue and along those portions of streets intersecting Surf Avenue located north of a line drawn 50 feet north of and parallel to the northern street line of Bowery and its westerly prolongation.

(a)        Street wall location

The street wall of a building shall be located within five feet of the street line and extend along the entire frontage of the zoning lot, except that:

(1)        a sidewalk widening shall be required at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street, extending from a point on the Surf Avenue street line 125 feet west of West 10th Street to a point on the West 10th Street street line 20 feet south of Surf Avenue. Such area shall be improved as a sidewalk to Department of Transportation standards, be at the same level as the adjoining sidewalks, and be accessible to the public at all times. Such sidewalk widening line shall be considered a street line for the purposes of applying the use and height and setback regulations of this Chapter;

(2)        to allow for corner articulation, the street wall may be located anywhere within an area bounded by intersecting street lines and lines 15 feet from and parallel to such street lines ; and

(3)        to allow for portions of towers to rise without setback from grade, a portion of a building base below a tower may be set back 10 feet from the street line, provided the width of such setback area is not greater than 40 percent of the width of the street wall of the tower, and provided such setback area complies with the provisions of Section 131-47 (Design Requirements for Ground Level Setbacks).

(b)        Building base

(1)        Surf Avenue, west of West 12th Street

West of West 12th Street, the street wall of a building shall rise without setback to a minimum base height of 35 feet or the height of the building, whichever is less, and a maximum base height of 45 feet. If a tower is provided, in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (d) of this Section, the maximum base height shall be 65 feet. At a height no lower than the minimum base height and no higher than the maximum base height, a setback shall be required, pursuant to the provisions set forth in paragraph (c) of this Section.

Any portion of a street wall which exceeds a height of 60 feet shall be located within 150 feet of the intersection of two street lines and shall coincide with the location of a tower. Towers shall comply with the location requirements of paragraph (d) of this Section.

(2)        Surf Avenue, east of West 12th Street

East of West 12th Street, the street wall of a building shall rise without setback to a minimum base height of 35 feet or the height of the building, whichever is less, and a maximum base height of 45 feet. At a height no lower than the minimum base height and no higher than the maximum base height, a setback is required that shall comply with the provisions set forth in paragraph (d) of this Section.

For the base of any building located on the south side of Surf Avenue, above the level of the second story, up to 30 percent of the aggregate width of street walls may be recessed, provided no recesses are located within 15 feet of an adjacent building or within 30 feet of the intersection of two street lines, except where corner articulation is provided as set forth in paragraph (a)(3) of this Section.

(c)        Transition height

All portions of a building that exceed the applicable maximum base height specified in paragraph (b) of this Section shall be set back from the street line at least 20 feet except that, where towers are provided, the minimum setback depth from the street line shall be 10 feet.

(1)        West of West 12th Street

All portions of a building that exceed the maximum base height set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this Section shall comply with the tower provisions of paragraph (d) of this Section.

(2)        East of West 12th Street

The maximum transition height shall be 65 feet, and all portions of buildings that exceed such height shall comply with the tower provisions of paragraph (d) of this Section, except that within 100 feet of Jones Walk on the easterly side, the maximum building height after the required setbacks shall be 85 feet.

(3)        Special Regulations for Use Group A

The transition height regulations of paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this Section shall not apply to buildings that rise to a maximum height of 85 feet to accommodate a Use Group A use or to buildings where the Chairperson of the Department of City Planning certifies to the Department of Buildings that additional height is necessary to accommodate an amusement use listed in Use Group A1.

(d)        Towers

All stories of a building located partially or wholly above a height of 65 feet shall be considered a “tower” and shall comply with the provisions of this paragraph (d).

(1)        Maximum floorplate

Each story of a tower shall not exceed a gross area of 8,500 square feet.

(2)        Maximum length and height

The outermost walls of all tower stories shall be inscribed within a rectangle, and no side of such rectangle shall exceed a length of 165 feet.

The maximum height of a building located between West 12th Street and Jones Walk shall be 150 feet between West 12th Street and Jones Walk. The maximum height of a building located between West 12th Street and West 16th Street on zoning lots with less than 50,000 square feet of lot area shall be 220 feet; on zoning lots with 50,000 square feet or more of lot area, the maximum height of a building shall be 270 feet. All towers that exceed a height of 150 feet shall provide articulation in accordance with Section 131-46.

(3)        Tower location

All towers shall be located within 25 feet of Surf Avenue and entirely within 100 feet of an intersecting street.