A rendering of an apartment building posted outside the lot on Amsterdam Avenue and 100th Street. Photo by @Above_96th.
By Hannah Reale
Excavation has begun on a new residential building on 100th Street and Amsterdam Avenue next to St. Michael’s Church, which owns the lot. Expected to rise about 14 stories, the building will have rental apartments with a commercial business on the ground floor, said Michael Smith, senior warden at St. Michael’s.
It will be approximately 51,000 square feet in total, although the design details have not yet been finalized. Smith said that it would be “in scale with what’s around it.”
The parish, which has been on 99th Street and Amsterdam “since the Jefferson Administration,” is ground-leasing the property to the Colonnade Group. It decided to sign a lease so it could receive a steady stream of future income rather than selling the property to the developers, Smith said.
Although the church had discussed having affordable housing at the site, this project will be market-rate. “We had hoped to do that, but the project is too small,” Smith said. “It just isn’t economically feasible.”
St. Michael’s has attempted to develop the land in the past, and even got into a legal dispute with a prior developer. More recently, plans filed in July for a 15-story building were disapproved.
Smith said that the Colonnade Group was selected for their experience in buildings that are this size. Although the group has not yet received a building permit for the development, there are no expected hiccups and they have begun exploratory excavation, he added.
This stretch of Amsterdam Ave is dingy and needs to be spruced up. This building will help revitalize this area.
I agree – this is a very dingy part of town and needs sprucing up. Hopefully they secure some good retail tenants who do well in this location.
The building will NOT revitalize that area. The luxury rental development on the other side of Amsterdam failed to do it. The building will be across the street from the Douglas Housing Project (running from 100th-101st), and on the opposite side you have the large playground running from (100th-103rd). There is one retail store in the development across the street – a 7-11. The rest is medical care. As a result, it is unpleasant to walk that stretch, particularly at night. We have friends that can afford to, and do, pay $5000 for a 2-bedroom in the existing luxury rental across the street, and they are moving because they find it so desolate and creepy at night; harassed by kids having in the 7-11 and park, etc..
The whole reason this area is so undesirable and dingy is the Douglas Housing Project – While I would like to see the area improved, everytime someone proposes a development many people dis it for not including affordable housing – but as it clear on 100th and Amsterdam affordable housing doesn’t enhance an area at all. It also doesn’t help that there are multiple halfway houses in the area which are a blight. Living near one of these, I can attest that EMS services are called at least once a day – what a waste of resources.
you object to EMS ambulances on the street? does that ruin your quality of life?
what is the waste of resources involved? do you know the ambulances are not needed?
Are you for real? It’s unpleasant to walk there? Lol. Ok, let’s take your advice and NOT build the building and just leave it as it is…
14 stories – thats way too tall. Call Landmarks West, it should be no bigger than 12 stories. What about all the Sun it will block and the shadows it will cast and how out of scale it is for the neighborhood. This is an outrage and we must protest at the construction site.
They should also cap prices at 100k for 2 bedroom apartments as well and make the first 2 stories a community center and give free coffee and bagels in the mornings to gain my support.
And no ponies! Where are the ponies?
Aaaaaaaand we have a winner!
You can call all you want and get Helen Rosenthal involved, blah, blah, blah. In the end real estate development will push past it all, and you’ll wind up getting the building just like it was proposed. It will be all over but the shouting.
Mark Levine’s district!
Dream on.
I find it a Ridiculous concern about this luxury building casting a shadow when it’s across the street from a taller luxury building owned by Steller.
How about some more affordable housing ? With so many people priced out of the Upper West side if you’re not already in a rent stabilized apartment or City Housing you have to be now be very wealthy to move into the neighborhood. And then they leave and move out after a year or two because the quality of life, when you’re spending over $5000 a month on apartment .
Your comments remind me of the old Yogi Berra saying – “It’s too crowded. Nobody goes there anymore”.
How about they just give free apartment?
Also, how will they pay for your free bagels is they cap the prices?
But the shadows!
It’s a sorry state of affairs that this over-the-top satire is nearly indistinguishable from the genuine commentary we typically see in the comment section.
Market-Rate = $5000 for a 2bedroom . I need to get out of this town !
It is even more depressing when you see overall layout/size of that 5k per month 2 bedroom. Rents/prices keep going up but square footage is going the other way.
They couldn’t make 2 apartments affordable.
They should have placed a super tall here maybe 50-90 stories then there would have been affordable housing at this location
Nice going, church. No affordable housing. And the church still gets tax exemptions! Wake up!
Another boring ugly box of a building. Shame on St Michaels and it board of trustees (local residents) for allowing this next to their beautiful church. We shouldn’t be suprised; they sold their air rights to extel enabling them to build the colossal ugly building next to the metro theater.
…Although the church had discussed having affordable housing at the site, this project will be market-rate. “We had hoped to do that, but the project is too small,” Smith said. “It just isn’t economically feasible.”
No affordable housing at a church tax-exempt site? The laws need to be changed. If it is not economically feasible for St. Michael’s to build affordable units, then they need to pay their fair share in taxes.
That should apply to all churches and mega-churches who are capitalizing on their tax-exempt status. Times have changed and they’ve become a business for survival. Pay up!
With the loss of affordable housing units, this is shameful to hear.
Worst architectural rendering ever.