Plans for a Lenox Hill Hospital expansion have been in the works for sometime now, and renderings show a 41-story residential building on part of the hospital’s Upper East Side property. This 490-foot-tall condominium tower will sit on the corner of East 76th Street and Park Avenue and include about 200 units, while a second 30-story tower will be built on the opposite Park Avenue corner at East 77th Street. This structure will include a “mother-baby” hospital wing as well as operating rooms, patient rooms, and programmable shared community spaces. The proposal calls for a total of 1.3 million square feet, up from the hospital’s current 780,000 square feet at 100 East 77th Street.
Lenox Hill hospital expansion, rendering by Ennead Architects
As reported in Westview News, the financial weight of overhauling Lenox Hill made the project nearly impossible to accomplish without “monetizing” part of the hospital’s real estate. The residential tower was added so “we could offset costs for rebuilding Lenox Hill,” said Michael Dowling, president and chief executive officer of Northwell Health.
Lenox Hill hospital expansion, rendering by Ennead Architects
The project has been broken up into three phases to allow for the continued operation of hospital facilities while the new development is constructed. It is unclear when construction will begin or when the expansion is expected to be completed. Northwell Health revealed the renderings in early March and presented them to the community approximately 2 months ago.
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Sounds like it will need to go through the City’s land reform review, aka NIMBY whine fest. No doubt the usual outrage about the towers being too tall and such.
I don’t think anybody is going to complain about a hospital being built, that is something everybody needs and can use. But hundreds of empty high rise, money laundering condos, is something we can live with out. Stop blaming NIMBY’s for trying to stop these greedy developers from building these projects that do nothing but hurt the community and displace the locals from their long time homes, they are the ones who turn this city around to what it is today. The fact that they are closing hospitals to build mega developments, for people who aren’t even from this city or just use it as a vacation home is sad. We are in the middle of another housing crisis and nothing is being done to solve the problem. I’m not against building in NY, in fact thats what makes this city great but we have to control some of these projects so they don’t get out of hand and serve the people of this city.
The medical and pharmaceutical industries in our nation are run by criminals. They pay politicians to make sure the highest prices in the world are charged to people who are sick and need help. It’s beyond shameful.
Where is the affordable housing? Not a penny for those who need it. Shame on Northwell
Nobody would argue with Northwell upgrading their facilities. What is inexcusable is their disregard for the character of the surrounding residential community, and dismissal of healthcare for those most in need. They are proposing to almost double the amount of floor area from that which currently exists. They are proposing a 490 foot tall residential building on Park Avenue where the current height limit is 210 feet, and a 516 foot tall hospital facility on Lexington Avenue where the current height limit is 170 feet. This proposal would require major zoning changes to be approved by the City. They are not increasing the number of beds but creating a single room occupancy boutique facility for the wealthy at the expense of those who sorely need care. At the same time they are rebuilding the entire blockfront on Third Avenue between 76th and 77th streets with additional facilities. The scale of this proposal represents an unprecedented assault on the residential character of the neighborhood, and the well-being if its residents. Our elected officials have asked Northwell to come back with a proposal which is consistent with the current zoning.
Single bed rooms are a national standard these days, not some boutique experience for the wealthy elite. New York is way behind. Healthcare in NYC is increasingly going to outpatient and ambulatory care centers. Inpatient bed occupancy has been declining massively for years, particularly in Manhattan. This is behind the massive decline of MSBI’s available beds and the closure of many NYC hospitals over the years.
Unless Northwell proceeds with this plan they will eventually be forced to close Lenox Hill. It simply can’t compete with the better patient amenities available at NYU Langone and the future new facilities built by NYP and Mount Sinai, while at the same time paying out the nose to renovate incredibly outdated facilities with poor outcomes and high costs.
The tall design of the inpatient tower increases the natural light available to patients, which aids in healing. Transitioning to single patient rooms also helps patients get a good night’s sleep, along with the company of a loved one, and lowers the rate of hospital contracted illness.
The community needs this.