Plans have been revealed for the fire-cleared lot of Middle Collegiate Church at 112 Second Avenue in Manhattan’s East Village. Presented by CTA Architects on behalf of the congregation, the proposal calls for wrapping the L-shaped lot in a 10-foot-tall aluminum fence, paving the interior with permeable pavers, and constructing an accessible ramp and entrance to the church’s existing worship space at 50 East 7th Street. The application, which spans 112-114 Second Avenue and 50 East 7th Street, will go before the Landmarks Preservation Commission at its public hearing tomorrow.
112 2nd Avenue, via LPC proposal.
Historical photograph of 112 2nd Avenue, via LPC proposal.
Presentation drawings show a powder-coated, spear-picket aluminum fence with custom metal gates fronting roughly 61 feet on Second Avenue and 80 feet on East 7th Street, a profile benchmarked against the churchyard fences at St. Paul’s Chapel and the New York City Marble Cemetery, which rise nine to 12 feet. Behind the fence, a mulched row of beach plum trees in metal guards will line Second Avenue, eight painted wood planters will run along East 7th Street, and the ground plane will be paved in Eco-Priora permeable pavers in a Steel Grey blend.
At the eastern end of the lot, a concrete platform set with 36-by-48-inch walkable glass panels will top the lower level, and a 24-foot ADA-compliant ramp will rise to a gabled portico with raised-panel wood double doors, frosted fire-rated glass, bronze kickplates and levers, and a removable backlit transom. Stone salvaged from the church’s demolished façade would be stacked in the existing excavation along the lot’s eastern edge, and black security cameras would mount to the fence posts. The proposed street elevation retains the pointed stone entry arch of the former church at the eastern end of the fenced frontage.
Rendering of 112 2nd Avenue, via LPC proposal.
The site has sat largely empty since December 5, 2020, when a six-alarm fire spreading from the vacant tenement at 48 East 7th Street gutted the 1892 Gothic Revival church designed by Samuel Burrage Reed, destroying its Tiffany windows but sparing the 1729 Liberty Bell.
The commission approved demolition of the remaining façade in January 2023, with modifications requiring the reuse of as much historic material as possible, and crews dismantled the stone front by hand beginning that November. The fencing and landscaping are interim: church leadership has described the Second Avenue lot as the site of a future permanent sanctuary, to be developed with a partner organization under a ground lease.
112 2nd Avenue, via LPC proposal.
YIMBY last covered the site in December 2020, when demolition of the burned tenement was wrapping up and the church’s stabilized façade remained standing. A construction timeline for the site work has yet to be announced.
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