A number of new developments are underway throughout the city, including those that required first demolishing churches and historical buildings. Here are some updates on some of the city’s residential development projects.
Harlem Church to be Razed to Make Way for New Apartment Building
The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church will be soon be demolished to make room for a new residential building featuring a new church. Located at 58 West 135th Street, the 102-year-old church has reportedly been struggling to keep up with maintenance costs. As such, church officials entered into discussions to cut a deal worth about $10.2 million with billionaire Moujan Vahdat. Vahdat, who runs Elmo Realty and Empire Development Fund, says he plans to demolish the building and replace with a 30,000-square-foot residential building that will also include 11,000-square-feet of space for a new church located on the ground and cellar levels.
While there is no word yet regarding the number of apartments that the building will ultimately hold, Vahdat estimates construction will last for about 2.5 years. Vahdat has also reported agreed to pay up to $5,000 per month to help the church relocate until the building is complete. In addition, his firm has agreed to pay off the church’s remaining mortgage payments, which come to around $400,000.
45 Park Place to Condos to be Among the City’s Most Expensive
After years of being tied up by development issues, Sharif El-Gamal’s 45 Park Place condo development is almost complete. At an average cost of $3,400 per square foot, the Financial District development is also among the city’s most expensive. Boasting just 50 units, condos will start at $1.92 million for a one-bedroom unit to $3.725 million for a two-bedroom unit. Three-bedroom units will start at $4.595 million while four-bedroom units will cost $10.5 million. The building will also have a duplex penthouse available for $41 million and a second that will be listed for $39 million. While the units will be coming on the market at a time when luxury condo sales are down, having dropped 25 percent in the first quarter of this year, El-Gamal reportedly remains optimistic about sales.
New Greystone Development Offers Just Five Residences
Located at 175 West 10th Street, a new Greystone Development boutique condo in West Village is home to just five, full-floor residences. Among these is a duplex penthouse with three outdoor spaces, a second floor condo listed at $5.99 million and a fifth floor apartment listed at $7.2 million. Designed by BKSK Architects, each of the apartments offers three bedrooms and range in size from 2,700 square feet to just over 3,000 square feet. Each condo also boasts outdoor space, a private elevator entrance, 10-foot-tall ceilings and finished oak floors. The master bedrooms feature Calacutta marble walls and attached bathrooms with marble-encased tubs and glass-enclosed showers while the kitchens boast Calcutta Gold polished marble countertops and backsplash along with a Gaggenau appliance package.
To make space for this new development, a single-story building in the historic district had to be demolished. The application for the project was finally approved in April 2014 after a great deal of back and forth. Since then, work on the development has moved steadily forward. The building is set to open sometime toward the end of summer.