The Laurel is a 30-story residential condominium tower on the southeast corner of 67th Street and First Avenue.

The building was developed by Alexico Management of which Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias are principals. Alexico acquired the property for $143 million.

It is just to the north of the handsome St. John Nepomucine Roman Catholic Church on the avenue and it is also across the avenue from the large St. Catherine's Park that occupies about half of the block between 66th and 67th Streets and First and Second Avenues.

St. John Nepomucine Church was erected in 1925 and designed by John Van Pelt in what Elliot Willensky and Norval White described in their fine book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition" (Three Rivers Press, 2000), as "A wonderfully romantic paen to the Romanesque style for a Slavic...congregation."

The building, which also has an address of 1238-1244 First Avenue, has been designed by Costas Kondylis and was completed in 2008.

Alexico's other projects have included 165 Charles Street, which was designed by Richard Meier, and the Grand Beekman at 400 East 51st Street, which was designed by Mr. Kondylis. It also acquired the former Mark Hotel on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue at 77th Street to convert it partially to condominiums.

The new building has apartments ranging in size from 500-square-foot studios to 4,000-square-foot six-bedroom units. It is on the former site of the Bethany Memorial Church (Reformed in America) that was built in 1910 and designed by Nelson & Van Wagenen.

Initial pricing was expected to average about $1,700 a square foot, which includes membership in the building s Trophy Club that will have a triathlon center and a training program by Orion Mims.

The building is close to Rockefeller University, New York Hospital and Sotheby's but is several blocks away from the nearest subway station.