Harlem's La Hermosa Christian Church has filed a proposal for a new 33-story, mixed-use tower, reports YIMBY. The proposal claims the existing Harlem zoning regulations “require adherence to multiple heights, setback, and yard requirements that would result in inefficient floor plates, uneconomical building design, and a contextually incoherent development.”
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The church currently owns six lots along 110th Street and proposes to modify all (or part of) its parcels. The hefty environmental assessment statement states, “The Directly Affected Area is located at one of the four corners of Central Park, which generally serve as gateways to the park. The current zoning districts that partition the Directly Affected Area, however, do not encourage development consistent with the existing character of the developments surrounding Frawley Circle or the character of the three other gateway corners of Central Park.”
If the plan is approved, the existing three-story site of the church site will be demolished to make way for the proposed 410-foot tower at 5 West 110th Street. Forty-eight of its 160 total units would be designated as permanently affordable apartments for families at or below 80 percent area median income. The church proposes to occupy about 20 percent of the building with the remainder for the residential portion.
6sqft reported that La Hermosa Christian Church is the oldest Latino church on the East Coast, constructed in 1940. According to the report, the rezoning could “ensure the preservation of a prominent community resource in Central Harlem neighborhood while providing additional, much needed, affordable housing.”
If approved, the project’s expected completion date is 2022.
Contributing Writer
Michelle Sinclair Colman
Michelle writes children's books and also writes articles about architecture, design and real estate. Those two passions came together in Michelle's first children's book, "Urban Babies Wear Black." Michelle has a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in the Cities Program from the London School of Economics.
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