UPDATE: THE SCHOOL WILL BE RESTORED BASED ON NEW INFORMATION RECEIVED. We walked by the old PS 186 ruins on 145th Street this past week and noticed that nothing is happening on the public school site that has been abandoned for over 25 years. A non profit owns the building and was responsible for restoring it for community use when the city sold off the property but old school still remains in ruins.
A
similar public school building was renovated several blocks north and has since sold out as adaptive reuse condos but PS 186 still remains neglected for some reason. East Harlem
will also have one of these old school buildings restored for artist housing in the coming year.There have been quite a few proposals in the past to save this building
but apparently the owners want it demolished now and have a newer structure rise on site but now a new plan has been put into action for a 2014 adaptive reuse finish date. There will be 85 units of affordable housing included:
LINK
Sketch via Dattner Architects
Its a shame, the city is in no financial shape to be giving this stuff away (at least not anymore). In the future, they need to sell to developers for market rate condos or office space with stipulations to maintain the historical architecture. That way it is a win win - City gets top dollar (more money to help pay for services the city offers, and neighborhood gets a restored gem. I really hope the city has changed their policy. Many Harlem non-profits are too poor to do anything with this space.
ReplyDeleteYou are referencing a 2.5 year old article. This seemed to be the case then but they have since provided new plans by Datner Architects with the intention preserve the facade. They have also applied for historical tax credits in order to do so.
ReplyDeleteThis was the only media report about the school in the past few years so thanks for the tip. The article has been updated accordingly. Please send any additional tips on the neighborhood to: harlembespoke@gmail.com
DeleteI agree anonymous. It will be heartbreaking to see this building destroyed. What a waste. ...
ReplyDeleteYay! Hope for the neighborhood afterall! I love it up here.
ReplyDeleteAffordable housing doesn't help the Boys and Girls Club. In order to successfully manage their organization, they should ask for top dollar for the units. Market Rate. That way they pay off the loans for the renovation and have more for programming for the kids.
ReplyDeleteIt is an abandoned building right now. No one is being kicked out. But bringing in market rate condos will ONLY help the neighborhood, not hurt it.
Agreed- this building will cost a fortune to restore. I don't believe the math works out by having only affordable apartments. Market rate, with perhaps some affordable apartments is a much more realistic model to pay for this- otherwise the Boys and Girls club could be at risk for lack of financing.
DeleteThey may have new plans and a set of fancy new drawings from Datner, but they're still waiting on financing. Not surprising; after all, it's going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to recoup any investment with the community space requirements and only affordable housing units. Our area has the highest concentration of affordable housing in the whole city. What we really need is market rate tenants who can afford to put money into the economy and support local businesses, which in turn can employ more locals and help lift everyone up. Why is this so hard for people to understand?!?
ReplyDeleteA 2014 finish date? Sounds like someone is dreaming or smoking. This is going to be abandoned until 2020, by which point they'll have to tear it down for neglect. Sad but true. This project is just way too expensive to be "affordable housing". It's either a corrupt giveaway to some construction company with local connections or a pathetic pipe dream of a charity unable to face economic realities.
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking to see attractive drawings and fear it will never happen. History of the site is sad and reveals that the charity is unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteIsn't is amazing that the Assembly Member has been the same Assembly Member for the entire time this building has shut down. Elected officials have allowed this to be an eye sore in the neighborhood for years, doing nothing till now. Meanwhile, schools are overcrowded and ppl will move in the school in the near future for housing, but where will they send there kid to school?
ReplyDeleteI'm just so grateful that the architectural integrity will remain, no matter what its use. I can only hope that the same will be true for the Hamilton Place building on 146 and broadway. That building is a beauty!
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