CLIENT: Baptist Temple Church Inc
ADDRESS: 20 W 116 Street, NYC
CONGREGATION: 100 persons
HISTORY:
Baptist Temple Church was located on 116 St in a designated landmark building in Harlem NY since 1968. The structure, which was originally a Jewish Temple, had a devastating fire in 1970 that destroyed the upper levels of the building, and thereby led to the building losing its landmark status. The congregation of the Baptist Temple Church resumed occupancy after completing renovation on the ground and cellar floors.
In 2012, two neighboring condominiums were being erected on either side of the Church which necessitated underpinning. During the process of underpinning the foundation was compromised, the street facade cracked vertically, and the building was rendered uninhabitable. The NYC Department of Building issued a vacate order of the Church building and brought in a demolition team to remove the central portion of the cracked facade, leaving a gaping hole in the envelope of the building exposing the interiors to the elements.
PROJECT:
Karl Anthony Architect LLC was retained to restore the envelope as well as the integrity of the building in order for the Baptist Temple to be occupied once again. Once the stabilization of the structure was completed, it was determined that there were not enough funds to restore the interior for occupation because of the extensive damage. A search committee comprised of U3 Advisors and Studio 1112 was formed to provide programmatic and planning criteria, to suggest aesthetic recommendation and to provide design services for the church portion of the building to potential developers. The search led to the selection of a Harlem based developer.
Plans have been filed with the NYC DOB and approved, to develop an 11-story apartment building on the church’s property between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue. The church would return, taking up 5,800 square feet in the cellar and first floors of the new development. Twenty-eight apartments would be stacked on top, spread across 29,540 square feet of residential space. The average units would measure 1,055 square feet, and most of the upper floors would host three to four units each. The 10th and 11th floors would include a penthouse duplex, shared recreation space, and a roof deck. No parking is included (or required), but there will be bike storage in the cellar.
CURRENT STATUS:
The developers are currently exploring financing options.
