All renderings via FXCollaborative
Nearly four months since Harlem’s La Hermosa Christian Church (“La Hermosa”) filed an application to rezone a strip of Central Park North, the church presented its latest vision to a City Planning Commission meeting (h/t 6sqft). The church owns six lots along West 110th Street, and zoning changes to most, if not all, of the parcel would allow a new 33-story mixed-use building to rise on the site.
Renderings of the design by FXCollaborative showed a soaring tower and a three-story community space. The community space would be run by the church and offer 38,000 square feet for classrooms, sanctuary space, a music hall, forum space, and free children’s music lessons run by the Manhattan School of Music. The residential component would include 160 new rental units, 48 of which would be affordable.
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Rendering
While the approval would mean the existing church would have to be demolished, La Hermosa pastor Dan Feliciano says, “The project that we’re proposing means the survival of our Church.” La Hermosa is considered the oldest Latino church on the East Coast and enjoys a rich musical and artistic history. However, that has not been enough to keep the deterioration of the current space at bay. Services have been moved to a small, lower-level space for now, but proceeds from the new tower’s residential space could be used to create a new house of worship.
Representatives from La Hermosa and FXCollaborative were at the meeting, but a developer was notably absent because none is attached yet. Manhattan’s Community Board 10 rejected the application in June for this very reason, and the City Planning Commission also expressed concerns.
View from Central Park
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