Permits have been filed for a nine-story residential building at 525 Wales Ave in Mott Haven, The Bronx. Located between East 147th Street and East 149th Street, the lot is near the East 149th Street subway station, served by the 6 train. John DiBattista of St. Roch Apartments LLC is listed as the owner behind the applications.
The proposed 105-foot-tall development will yield 116,268 square feet designated for residential space. The building will have 160 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 726 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have a cellar but no accessory parking.
Esther Dockery of NBO4 Architecture is listed as the architect of record.
Demolition permits have not been filed yet. An estimated completion date has not been announced.
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Oh no, is it the beautiful church and tower being demolished?
It looks like that is the demolition. Every single site does not have to be developed. Have you seen what Mott Haven is becoming? One soulless highrise after another. The only reason to consider living there is the closeness to Manhattan.
There’s a fair amount of development in Mott Haven currently but would never be described as “one soulless highrise after another.”
WAIT A SECOND NOW…
I don’t think the church itself is being demolished. The permit is for 525 Wales, which appears to be the church’s rectory. The church has a different address. My guess is this project is being built on the lot from the demolished rectory and the parking lot between it and the neighboring apartment house.
Well maybe.
It appears that the Diocese merged this church, St. Roch, with St. Anselm on Tinton Av and closed this church back in 2010. They put the building up for sale in 2017-2018. At this point I don’t know whether this church building will survive and the new development will in fact be built on the site or if the new build will be built on the rectory and parking lot. Some quick square footage calucluations has me thinking it’s possibly more likely the church will be demolished.
Too bad. It’s a beautiful structure, but thus is the dilemma with old churches when the congregants dwindle and they and the diocese can’t afford the increasing cost of upkeep let alone restorations.
The Church of St. Roch
St Roch was founded in 1899 to serve Italian Catholics, with Rev. John Milo as the first pastor. It originally stood on 150th St. near Robbins Ave. but moved to a new building on Wales Ave. and dedicated in 1932. The parish hosted a Passion Play and later attracted immigrants from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Mexico. In 1974, the Augustinian Recollects began overseeing the parish. Due to decreasing attendance, it became a mission of St. Anselm’s from 1985 to 1992. St. Roch’s was merged with St. Anselm’s in 2015, and its church building was desacralized in November 2017.