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70 Photos Inside Chelsea's Former Prison Before It's Converted

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From YMCA housing for sailors to a correctional facility for women to shiny new offices for a tech company? It could happen. Developers are currently vying for the opportunity to convert the Bayview Correctional Facility on West 20th Street and Eleventh Avenue into a commercial development, which would be the third life for the 1931 brick building. Originally built as one eight-story building, the structure's first use was as YMCA housing for merchant sailors. An adjacent six-story annex was built in 1951, and in 1974, the buildings were transferred to the Department of Correctional Services. Up until Hurricane Sandy, Bayview functioned as a medium security women's prison, housing up to 323 prisoners. Today, the facility sits empty, and while there are some stand-out spaces—like the open rooftop sports courts and the Art Deco chapel—whichever developer wins the bid certainly has a lot of work to do to turn the sterile hallways and tiny rooms into a place fit for office workers or the community.

· Bayview Correctional Facility [official RFP]
· Bayview Correctional Facility coverage [Curbed]