At left, the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. At right, a rendering of how it will look after being turned into an apartment building. Images courtesy of Curbed.
A plan to transform most of a 121-year-old Upper West Side church into a condominium passed muster with the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Wednesday.
The Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church at 142 West 81st street between Columbus and Amsterdam, will be remade as a condo complex, with space on the first floor and basement for the church, Curbed reported. Architects DXA Studio will transform the building into a seven-story residential space, with seven to 10 apartments, including a two-story addition that’s expected to be a duplex apartment.
Stained glass windows will either be restored or moved, and a new glass facade will go up in back — that facade generated the most disagreement, it seems, because it’s pretty modern-looking. Otherwise, the commissioners, and the community board were supportive. For lots more images and explanation, check out Curbed’s comprehensive report.
With more complicated church-to-condo projects on the horizon, architects will likely be looking at this one to see how to pass muster with the landmarks board.
I used to live on this block and always loved the façade of this church. I’m not really a fan of the proposed glass backside but all in all I think it’s a pretty cool plan!
Man, looks incredible, at least from the rendering. You know you’re living in style if you call that place home…
adaptive re-use sure is better then complete destruction.
Say goodbye to Our Lady of Vilnius at the entrance of the Holland Tunnel.
I think it’s pretty cool! If they can turn a church into a nightclub and now a market, why not a condo! Wish I could afford to live in it.