The revised plan by St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers and the Rudin family to redevelop the hospital's properties on both sides of Seventh Avenue in Greenwich Village will be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission June 3.
The commission held a hearing on the initial proposal recently and indicated it had many problems with it such as the proposed demolition of the Edward and Theresa O'Toole Medical Services Building on the west side of the avenue and other buildings.
The hospital has filed a "hardship application" to demolish the O'Toole Building and its press release noted that it is doing so "on the grounds of hardship rather than on grounds of insufficient architectural merit, as requested by some preservation groups."
The four-story O'Toole building was erected in 1961 for the National Maritime Union and was designed by Albert C. Ledner with nautical motifs. The hospital acquired the building in 1977.
The revised plan, shown at the right, "significantly" reduces the bulk and scale of its expansion plans and preserves its Nurses, Raskob, Smith, and Spellman buildings in the Greenwich Village Historic District that are east of Seventh Avenue.
The original proposal called for a large residential building on the Seventh Avenue east blockfront between 11th and 12th Streets and many townhouse-size buildings on the side-streets.
The revised plan now intends to re-use several of the existing large buildings on both 11th and 12th Street and the new tower now will not extend all the way to 12th Street on the avenue.
The proposed new hospital tower on the "O'Toole" site has been designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and the residential buildings for Rudin have been designed by FXFowle. The revised plans were presented at a meeting of Community Board 2 this week.
The hospital tower has been reduced in height from 329 to 299 feet and a section at its southwestern corner was cut away in the new plans. The condominium apartment tower on the avenue has been reduced in height by 30 feet and in width on the avenue by 60 feet.
An article by Matt Chaban in yesterday's on-line edition of the Architects Newspaper quoted Shelly Friedman, counsel to the hospital, as stating that "At the end of the day, the O'Toole building is the only site St. Vincent's can move into."
The commission held a hearing on the initial proposal recently and indicated it had many problems with it such as the proposed demolition of the Edward and Theresa O'Toole Medical Services Building on the west side of the avenue and other buildings.
The hospital has filed a "hardship application" to demolish the O'Toole Building and its press release noted that it is doing so "on the grounds of hardship rather than on grounds of insufficient architectural merit, as requested by some preservation groups."
The four-story O'Toole building was erected in 1961 for the National Maritime Union and was designed by Albert C. Ledner with nautical motifs. The hospital acquired the building in 1977.
The revised plan, shown at the right, "significantly" reduces the bulk and scale of its expansion plans and preserves its Nurses, Raskob, Smith, and Spellman buildings in the Greenwich Village Historic District that are east of Seventh Avenue.
The original proposal called for a large residential building on the Seventh Avenue east blockfront between 11th and 12th Streets and many townhouse-size buildings on the side-streets.
The revised plan now intends to re-use several of the existing large buildings on both 11th and 12th Street and the new tower now will not extend all the way to 12th Street on the avenue.
The proposed new hospital tower on the "O'Toole" site has been designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and the residential buildings for Rudin have been designed by FXFowle. The revised plans were presented at a meeting of Community Board 2 this week.
The hospital tower has been reduced in height from 329 to 299 feet and a section at its southwestern corner was cut away in the new plans. The condominium apartment tower on the avenue has been reduced in height by 30 feet and in width on the avenue by 60 feet.
An article by Matt Chaban in yesterday's on-line edition of the Architects Newspaper quoted Shelly Friedman, counsel to the hospital, as stating that "At the end of the day, the O'Toole building is the only site St. Vincent's can move into."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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