A Catholic School on 87th street and West End Avenue has won approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to convert into a new apartment building. Developer Cary Tamarkin had failed in his first attempt to win approval because the mechanical equipment on top was considered too bulky. But the equipment has been trimmed, and the penthouse addition will also shrink slightly, according to Curbed.
“Tamarkin’s new plan removed the mechanicals from the bulkhead and placed them down in the courtyard. They will be covered up with a material that blends in with the rest of the outdoor space. The 10-foot penthouse was also slightly reduced to a height of 9 feet and 6 inches. With the mechanicals gone, the rooftop addition is now much less visible from the north and east ends of the site.”
Tamarkin’s company paid $50 million for the building. There are expected to be 12 to 15 apartments, meaning the apartments will likely be massive.
For more photos and information, go to Curbed.
Regarding the penthouse, I think both designs look lousy. I can’t understand why the architects can’t sheath it so it’s more in keeping with the façade of the original building. So many of these penthouses look they were prefabricated out of plywood and dropped on top of these buildings.
The aesthetics are driven more by the developer and their perception of the market than the architect. I have seen a lot of contextual designs get nixed for “as much glass as you can get”, or in this case the soho industrial loft look.
If I should win the lottery this week I would choose to spend it for an apartment in this building .. Love it !! Tamarkin does great work with exisiting buildings . would love to see more of this type of work
12 to 15 apartments? yup, just what we need in NYC… that will solve the housing crisis.
this building could have accommodated 80-100 affordable units, or more.
Or (gasp!) a school.
But, no, there are still Bankers out there clamoring to live on the UWS, so we must — absolutely *must*! — build them their manses to keep with their inflated net worth.
Though of course it will be they who complain about the lack of good local schools when their kids hatch.
Ah, well.
I’m giving “likes” to everything you say today. yes, a school…
The neighborhood is crowded enough!
This so easily could have BEEN a new school. It was a school for god’s sake – talk about a simple reno. But no – more luxury apartments. Thanks so much, DOE !
Do you really believe that the DoE can appropriate private property?
DOE refused to even make a bid for the site
I agree with Cato, it is just another ultra luxury building for the new Plutocrats. The inclusive, intellectual spirit of the UWS will soon be a thing of the past. It would have been great to have it continue as a school. The new rich UWS residents are not concerned with that as their kids all go to private schools. It is a shame what is happening to the UWS.
RB
I was born and raised on the UWS and it absolutely pains me to see the bland, cookie cutter suburb that it has become. It’s really indicative of the fact that Manhattan in general is no longer really part of NYC. So sad. I try to avoid the area – it hurts too much….
Don’t be so sure they all send their princelings to private schools.
It’s the vast population explosion due to the
Trumpstrosity that is a, if not the, major cause of the oversaturation of public schools like PS 199. And I don’t think anyone is accusing that of being a middle-income community.
The plutocrats may love their Italian granite designer sinks, but it looks like they’d be just as happy to save $50,000 a year if there’s a good public school they can yell and scream their way into. (Heck, given the rate at which they seem to breed three-child families, we could be talking a savings of $150,000 a year — maybe next year the second car can be a Maserati!)
I agree with you… but let’s not how few the actual plutocrats are. this building will consist of 15 apartments. and many will be second and third homes.
so there are still many more of us than there are plutocrats and gentrifiers!
Unfortunately, they have the money, and therefore the power.
Sheer numbers don’t make a difference unless they are preceded by a “$”.
i don’t think DOE had control. it was a Catholic school.
Developers pay overheated prices for properties and then they claim they must blow the lid off or the walls out to make a “reasonable” profit, read as much money as we possibly can. Unfortunately, this is going to be happening more and more as the mayor’s new proposal to take the lid off of zoning controls on development under the guise of “affordable housing”. There will be a net loss of affordable housing and the mayor really doesn’t care. How do I know that? Because they have no robust and cohesive plan to protect currently existing affordable housing which will be lost to demolition and renovation. The new proposal which the citizens have not been allowed to see”no legislative text is available for the public to review” is a developer giveaway.
I just can’ take it any more. Why does every building have to be converted to co-op or condo. At some point, NYC and the UWS will feel like just another metropolis with tall buildings and nothing else.
I moved to New York City 35 years ago. What I loved was the uniqueness of each neighborhood.
Sadly, that’s all gone. One neighborhood is the same as the next — Duane Reade, Rite-Aid,CVS, banks, banks and more banks. And don’t forget Sephora.
What is unique about NYC anymore?