St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center was founded in 1849; it was shuttered in 2010 due to the hospital's dire financial situation (they first filed for bankruptcy in 2005); and it will be transformed into $3,500 per-square-foot apartments as of 2015. Because what NYC needs more than anything else right now are more luxury condos.

The Times reports on the project known as the Greenwich Lane, a 200-unit condominium, five building complex that will take up half the block between West 11th and West 12th Streets, Seventh Avenue and Avenue of the Americas. Here's the nut of it all:

Many of the units will be large enough to accommodate growing families, but there is no mistaking that this will be a luxury development. Prices at the $1 billion project will average $3,500 a square foot — among the highest for new condos downtown and well above average for developments in the city. Move-ins are expected in the summer of 2015.

“It’s an exhilarating new chapter, because the speculation about what it is, is over,” said James Lansill, a senior managing director of the Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, which is handling sales.

“It feels terrific to show it off to the marketplace,” he added, “because simultaneous to any controversy that was happening, there’s been a tremendous buildup of interest in the project.”

Sure, people are more excited about putting down a few millions dollars for property than the loss of health care, and a NYC institution, in the neighborhood. But okay, this sounds pretty bad, but there'll be some housing for low-income families, right? “There is really something for everyone,” said Samantha Rudin, a vice president of the Rudin Management Company and Global Holdings, which developed the project. Oh that's great! Wait...

Still, only a select few may be able to walk away with a home. Even the most affordable unit won’t come cheap: a one-bedroom at 155 West 11th Street, the largest of the Greenwich Lane’s 5 main buildings, with 83 units, will be listed at $2.05 million.

“This project will make the neighborhood more wealthy, more homogeneous,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, who fought against the project for years. “In terms of the positive results for the community, it’s really hard to see what they are.”

Income inequality? Affordable housing crisis? LOL. Vibrant economy!