Rendering of 54-62 West 125th Street finishing construction in Harlem (J Frankl Architects)
Between Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus, retail rents at a fraction of Midtown’s, and a Bloomberg administration-led rezoning that now allows significantly taller buildings, the heart of Harlem is seeing an influx of major retailers and towering multi-family buildings. While some lament the “mallization” of 125th Street, others embrace the chance to build uptown. The Jay Group, a Long Island-based private investment firm, is certainly in the latter camp as it prepares to bring its newest project to 62 West 125th Street, which replaces a blighted batch of abandoned buildings with ground-level retail and apartments above.
String of derelict properties to be torn down for the tower (Google)
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Renderings via the New York Observer/Meridian Capital Group
In 2018, The Jay Group purchased a row of five dilapidated, four-story structure, which sat abandoned for years, from Ares Management for $26.8 million in June 2018. Later that year, the group secured $36.5 million in financing for the project. The new building stands 17 stories and around 180 feet tall, contributing to Harlem's steadily growing skyline. 8,752 square feet of retail span the lower levels, with 141 apartments on the floors above, 30 percent of which will be affordable.
62 West 125th Street in October with construction netting beginning to come down (CityRealty)
The building comes with a bike room, a laundry room, and interior and outdoor recreation areas. Plans and filings indicate a roof deck at the building pinnacle, which, thanks to the building’s prominent height, will offer 360-degree views of the skyline, with Billionaire’s Row supertalls, such as the recently topped-out 111 West 57th Street and Central Park Tower, rising in the distance.
Google Earth aerial showing location of project site.
The project takes shape on a dramatically shifting street. A few doors down, the Victoria Theater is being redeveloped into a 28-story tower with 191 apartments, a 210-key Marriott Renaissance Hotel, and four floors of cultural space. Further east, Bjarke Ingels Group designed E126, an eye-catching, 250-unit rental 148 East 126th Street. Local development is plentiful enough that it called for CityRealty reviewed Harlem’s hottest recently-completed and in-the-works developments earlier this year.
Other projects are still in early stages, but no less anticipated for it. Next to the world-famous Apollo Theater, at 270 West 126th Street, a proposed mixed-use, 42-story skyscraper will act as an extension to the theater on the first, second, and third floors, with a church on the ground floor and residential units above. A few blocks east, Extell purchased a former Pathmark supermarket at 150 East 126th Street, and its replacement is thought to include a mixture of condos and affordable housing. In 2016, The Durst Organization acquired 1800 Park Avenue for $91 million, with a multi-family project is in the planning stages.
(CityRealty)
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Michelle Mazzarella
Michelle is a contributing writer and editor for real estate news in New York City
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