Demolition is complete at 132 East 125th Street, the site of an eight-story mixed-use building in Harlem, Manhattan. Designed by Aufgang Architects and developed by Maddd Equities, the 100,000-square-foot structure will yield 73 affordable housing units in one- to three-bedroom layouts. The project will also include 45,000 square feet of medical office space and 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The property is located at the corner of East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue.
The low-rise former occupants of the parcel were fully razed and the site has been leveled. Three construction machines sit among the remaining masonry rubble awaiting the start of excavation.
132 East 125th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
132 East 125th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
132 East 125th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
132 East 125th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The rendering in the main photo shows a cubic massing with a glass curtain wall framed by a grid of bronze-hued paneling. A setback on the eighth and final level is lined with glass railings and features landscaping for a sprawling outdoor terrace.
Residential amenities are planned to include outdoor recreational spaces, a fitness center, and a coworking lounge. The building will be fully electric and engineered to meet Enterprise Green Communities standards.
Maddd Equities began to assemble the land for the development in 2020 with the $15 million acquisition of 124th East 125th Street, which was formerly occupied by the Harlem Savings Bank. This structure is seen on the right in the below Google Street View image from before the start of demolition. The developer followed this up with the $10.75 million purchase of 132 East 125th Street, as well as 17,000 square feet of air rights. Maddd then secured a $15 million land loan from Metropolitan Bank in 2021.
132 East 125th Street. Image: Google
Plans originally called for an office building, but were later revised to include residential units.
The site is located directly adjacent to the 125th Street subway station along Lexington Avenue, served by the 4, 5, and 6 trains. It is also near the elevated 125th Street station on the Metro-North Railroad.
A construction timeline has yet to be announced.
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They tore down that beautiful limestone bank building… for this?
That’s correct. The bank building should have been saved but thus is is the dilemma of white elephant structures. The interior was likely totally impractical to repurpose, leaving a facadectomy as the only preservation option and unfortunately the developer had no interest in doing that.
Affordable housing with wall to wall glass: window coverings will cost more than rent for a year!!! (Unless their interior designers purchase all of their furniture from Knoll, there will be old sofas up against the glass). Sometimes, architects should be making design decisions based on the program: looks more like a very nice bank in Des Moines, with the overhead fluorescent lights in every room!!
eight stories and only 73 units on this corner that’s a lex express stop and future SAS stop is a travesty, this should have been at least 30 stories and have hundreds of units.
The ground floor should also be a station house to enter the new combined station complex and get the ancient cramped stairs off of the sidewalk. If only the MTA knew what they were doing. Pennywise and pound foolish.
Agreed. They made the same mistake with the Whole Foods building down the street at Sixth Avenue. Could have been twice as high, easily. Such a missed opportunity.
It’s a mixed use development- with a significant portion being medical offices. This explains the commercial look. Maybe the apartments will be on the back side, or maybe that was the original rendering when it was going to be fully commercial space? Time will tell.
RIP 99 cents a slice pizza !
Good ridence to the eyesores and bad look for harlem. Its been long over due. This area was paradise for drug users and unecessarily prone to drama.
If they local community board can do something about the decrepit crowd in that intersection then yeah it makes sense to have floor to ceiling windows otherwise this becomes a no buy.
How would you suggest the local board get rid of that “decrepit crowd” in that intersection..lethal injection perhaps?
Many locals in east Harlem are fine with selling drugs on the streets. It scares away the ‘gentrifiers’ and is seen as ‘entrepreneurial’ in a rigged economy.
Support your local drug dealer!
the bank building facade could and should have been incorporated into the new construction. What a grand entrance!
boo developer for going for the cheap and easy.