Results tagged “stvincents”

The Landmarks Preservation Commission seems poised to green light the final hurdle in St. Vincent's Hospital's controversial plan to raze the landmark 1963 O'Toole building in Greenwich Village and replace it with a new hospital and residential towers on both sides of Seventh Avenue. The commission has already approved St. Vincent's designs for the hospital tower, and during a meeting yesterday, revised designs that shorten the tallest residential tower from 266 feet to 218 feet were deemed "fundamentally appropriate." The Rudin Organization plans to create some 375 residential units on and around the spot where the O'Toole building stands; the developer will pay St. Vincent's $310 million for the property, which the hospital will put toward the $830 million cost of a new medical tower. If the LPC approves the residential development next month, then it's the city Planning Commission and the City Council's turn. But die-hard opponents like Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation tell the Post, "It's a massive change that's being proposed and I think there are some fears and concerns about the scale of development and whether or not they match the character of Greenwich Village."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 8 to 3 yesterday to approve St. Vincent's designs for an $800 million hospital tower on the site currently occupied by the landmark O'Toole building in Greenwich Village. The vote came just a day after preservationists announced their lawsuit against St. Vincent's; some community groups have been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to stop the hospital from razing the 44-year-old building. The commission had previously rejected plans for a 329-foot hospital tower, but ultimately approved it at a height of 278 feet. But hospital officials still need the commission to approve their proposal for a 350-unit condo across the street; St. Vincent's plans to use money they raise from the apartments to build the hospital. Looking ahead to a surely prosperous future, developer William Rudin optimistically tells NY1, "Hopefully the economic situation we are in will have alleviated itself. And the economic stimulus would have kicked in and we'll see positive things happening in the economy and we think four to five years from now."

A coalition of community groups and preservationists have filed a lawsuit against the Landmarks Preservation Commission [LPC] and St. Vincent’s Hospital to try and block the demolition of the distinctive O’Toole building in Greenwich Village. You'll recall that after a bitter public battle, St. Vincent's hospital was granted a “hardship-status” exemption last October to raze the landmark building to make way for a 299-foot-tall medical tower. The lawsuit, spearheaded by a group called Protect the Village Historic District, argues that the LPC "did not make an adequate investigation of alternatives, including the potential reuse of St. Vincent's existing buildings." Officials at St. Vincent's have threatened that the hospital would have to close if it could not build an $830 million medical tower on the site of the O’Toole, which NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff hails as a representation of "a moment when some architects rebelled against Modernism’s glass-box aesthetic in favor of ornamental facades." Others simply call it the "overbite building."

After a long, bitter public battle, St. Vincent's hospital has won permission from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village and build a 299-foot-tall medical tower. The hospital applied for, and was granted, a “hardship-status” exemption, which allows nonprofit landlords to demolish landmark buildings if they can prove that the building is preventing them from carrying out their charitable mission. Community groups, preservationists and local celebrities like Susan Sarandon have opposed the scope of the project, which also calls for a 235-foot-tall luxury condominium (in partnership with the Rudin Management Company). In a statement, hospital officials said they can now take "another step forward to building a 21st century, technologically advanced hospital for Manhattan’s West Side and Downtown."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission met again yesterday to deliberate on St. Vincent's Hospital’s “hardship-status” application, which, if approved, would let the hospital raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village and build a 299-foot-tall medical building and a 233-foot tall luxury condominium. Unlike previously rowdy sessions that featured protest from local celebrities, there was no public comment this time. Instead, the commission heard from outside experts like Michael Meola at the city’s Economic Development Corporation, who testified that no other sites “would be a viable alternative to the O’Toole Building.” Developer William C. Rudin added, “Now more than ever, the city needs a project like this as an investment in our future.” No decision was made yesterday, but Andrew Berman at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation tells the Times, "A lot of people are questioning whether they will actually stick with this."

Authorities are tending to numerous manhole fires near 7th Avenue & West 13th Street (right by St. Vincent's Hospital!) and the following streets are closed: 13th St. between 6th and 8th Avenues and 7th Avenue between 14th and 13th Streets. Some buildings (mostly St. Vincent's) are without power and are being evacuated but St. Vincent's main hospital and emergency room are not affected. While it does not appear these manholes exploded, this How Stuff Works explanation about exploding manholes is helpful to understanding how a fire can occur.

Susan Sarandon and husband Tim Robbins testified before the Landmarks Preservation Commission today in protest against St. Vincent’s proposal to raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village, as well as four other buildings to make room for a 299-foot-tall medical building and a 235-foot-tall luxury condominium (in partnership with the Rudin Management Company). For the former Bull Durham stars, all that would mean a lot of noise and dust soiling the air near their building, which is a block away.

In presenting their argument for a massive demolition and construction project in the West Village – one that would raze the distinctive O’Toole Building (pictured) – representatives of St. Vincent’s hospital told the Landmarks and Preservation Commission yesterday that it will have to shut down if their proposal is not approved. Last month the commission unanimously rejected the hospital’s $1.6 billion development plan, which would demolish nine buildings to make room for a 329-foot-tall medical building on the O’Toole site and a 265-foot-tall luxury condominium in partnership with the Rudin Management Company.