A sidewalk shed went up at number 315 West 112th Street recently and we had initially thought that this particular house would go under some sort of renovation. Department of Building permits from October of 2010 had building repair work planned by HPD but new paperwork approved in November states that a full building demolition is now at hand. The owner that bought the property back in 2000 did not get around to restoring the townhouse and now looks to either just sell the land or start from scratch. We are not sure what the details are all about but the scaffolding sign states that the property is owned by NYC HPD so the situation is really unclear.
Ulysses: It's not just on the north side on this block -- there's another equally mysterious empty lot right across the street as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for 315, judging by the deed provisions (detailed in a title insurance document attached to the most recent mortgage -- see ACRIS), the city had imposed a series of time-limited requirements upon the new owner (i.e., rehabilitating the property and removing existing violations). The failure to fulfill any of them could easily have resulted in the property reverting to city ownership without recourse or compensation greater than $1. Presumably that's what happened.
On its face it would seem that HPD is demolishing the building on the left in order to build on both lots -- but I suppose we don't yet know that for sure.