For more than 30 years, the Rockaway Courthouse, a stately Greco-Roman structure built in 1932, has sat empty and crumbling on Beach Channel Drive. The building only functioned as a courthouse for 30 years, then was briefly occupied by an arts group before being abandoned altogether. Now the Mayor's Office and the city Economic Development Corporation have announced plans for the 24,000-square-foot building to undergo a gut renovation and become a medical center.
The proposal comes from developer Uri Kaufman of Harmony Group. Last year, Rockaway saw the closing of Peninsula Hospital Center, so new medical facilities are much-needed. Harmony has restored dozens other historic buildings in New York, and the planned $10 million project will bring the courthouse back to its former glory. Rockaway ASC Development LLC, a group of 10 physicians, will run the medical center, providing services in ophthalmology, urology, obstetrics, gynecology, and orthopedics.
· Mayor Bloomberg Announces Restoration of Rockaway Courthouse, Transforming Historic Building Into a New Medical Center [nyc.gov]
· New life on tap for decrepit Rockaway Courthouse [NYND]
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