Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital slated to dump four historic buildings, plan stirs controversy
Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital is on track to unload four historic buildings from its portfolio in a plan expected to reel in a reported $130 million. That money will be used to upgrade and expand the facility, and bring additional services.
BY JAN RANSOM
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Tuesday, December 23, 2014, 8:01 PM
Updated: Friday, December 26, 2014, 12:55 PM
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STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGESMount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital
Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital is prepping to shed a little weight so it can add some muscle.
The Morningside Heights medical center is on track to unload four historic buildings from its portfolio in a plan expected to reel in a reported $130 million. That money will be used to upgrade and expand the facility, and bring additional services.
But the move has the uptown neighborhood and its City Councilman on edge about what will become of the six- to nine-story properties on Morningside Drive between W. 113th and W. 114th Sts., which include two landmarked buildings.
“I’m worried that the developer may have demolition in mind,” said Councilman Mark Levine. “I’m worried about the height . . . and what may replace these buildings. I’m concerned about whether it will be exclusively luxury apartments in a neighborhood where we have a desperate need for affordable housing.”
The French Renaissance Revival-style buildings are a part of six designed by Ernest Flagg. The local community board has asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to look into the matter. The landmarked buildings could not be demolished but under their current zoning, there are no height restrictions for new construction.
“Potentially we could see a tower the size of the Extell towers,” said Brad Taylor, a Community Board 9 member and president of Friends of Morningside Park, referring to the hulking building under construction on Broadway between W. 99th and W. 100th Sts.
JAN RANSOMMount Sinai St Luke's hospital
The hospital closed bidding for the prime real estate last week and expects to announce the winner early next year, a spokesman said. The buildings would likely become residential.
“These underutilized buildings were first opened more than a century ago and no longer permit us to offer state-of-the-art care to our patients,” said hospital spokesman Sid Dinsay.
Some of the proceeds will help the hospital expand its cardiac services, emergency department and inpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation units, he noted.
The sale, first reported by Crain’s, will also help fund an on-campus urgent care center and a host of other additions and upgrades, he said.
