It’s back to the drawing board for the architects attempting to turn the Crenshaw Church at the corner of 96th street and Central Park West into a luxury condo building. The Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected the new design, raising particular concerns about the look of the front of the building, which faces Central Park West, according to Curbed.
“Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said the team was faced with a “challenge” and that the design was “sensitive.” But she was among those who were unhappy with the new windows on Central Park West and said the reason for them needed to be better thought out. She wanted the size of the rooftop mechanical units reduced if possible, and noted that if the team reduced the number of floors, there would be no need for a vertical extension of the skylight at the penthouse level.”
Several community groups and leaders urged the owners to be more sensitive to the original structure instead of removing stained glass and Landmarks West wants the owners to turn the building into something other than condos if they can’t do this thoughtfully: “The use should be adapted to the building’s form, not the other way around.”
Even noted architect Robert A.M. Stern weighed in with a letter, calling the 1903 building “one of the city’s most compelling religious structures in the Classical manner.”
The architects will have to redesign the building again, after bowing to some community board demands to reduce the number of windows (the community board actually approved the design that LPC rejected).
