Harlem is no longer known for abandoned buildings and neglected blocks. Small developments are filling in the vacant lots that once pockmarked the neighborhood, and today we have a look at one coming to 3 West 128th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard.
Much of upper Harlem is populated by aging apartment buildings, historic row houses, and huge public housing projects. But a few large development sites still exist in the neighborhood—usually car washes, gas stations, and other remnants of our more car-dependent past. Over the weekend, plans were filed to build a sizable apartment building at 2600 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (a.k.a. Seventh Avenue), a former car wash that sits a block from the Harlem River and close to the border with Washington Heights.
Construction is now wrapping up on the redevelopment of the former four-story, 11-unit single-room-occupancy (SRO) building at 4 West 126th Street, in Harlem, Harlem+Bespoke reported. The property has been expanded by two stories and 595 square feet, according to the latest building permits. The six-story structure will eventually host seven residential units averaging 888 square feet apiece. It’s not known if the units will be rentals or condominiums, although two of them will be duplexes. Joseph Aizer, doing business as an anonymous LLC, is the property owner. David Turner’s Midtown South-based architectural firm is the architect of record. Completion can probably be expected later this year.
Work is now underway to convert the dilapidated three-story (plus basement), 12-unit single-room-occupancy (SRO) building at 226 West 132nd Street, in Harlem, into four residential apartments. Construction on the building can be seen in a photo posted to Harlem+Bespoke. Permits at the Buildings Department indicate there will be 3,384 square feet of residential space, which means the project’s four full-floor apartments should average 846 square feet apiece. It’s unclear if the apartments will be condominiums or rentals. Renovations to the structure include a rebuilding of the interior spaces, foundational work, and new windows. Chi F. Lau’s TriBeCa-based architectural firm is the architect of record and David Lavipour is the property owner. Completion can probably be expected later this year.
Central Harlem is soon going to have one fewer vacant lot. Developer Rafael Santandreu hopes to build a nine-story, mixed-use building at the corner of 135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, next to the 135th Street stop on the B and C trains.
