Another Manhattan post office is headed for a condo-tastic. DNAinfo reports that the West 18th Street post office, called Old Chelsea Station, wants to sell the right to develop condos on top of the building. The addition could rise 83 feet, or about eight stories. The existing building dates to 1937, and it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Gregory Lackey, a realty asset manager for the USPS, told the local community board that the addition would be set back in order to preserve the block's character. The post office would still be operational during construction, but the addition would take up to 6,000 square feet of the current space to create a lobby for the condos and possibly a gym.
The postal service tried to sell the building in 2013, but the public opposed the closing of the post office (even though it's a shitty post office, with just two starts on Yelp. "I would give this place a negative star if I could"). The new plan is for the post office to continue to own their space, but a developer would own the top. They plan to issued a request for proposals at the end of the month.
The community board was peeved that the post office decided to an issue an RFP without consulting the public, but the post office rep promised input moving forward. Additionally, the community wants 30 percent of the new units to be affordable housing, which is not something developers are usually into, but anything can happen, right?
· USPS Unveils Plan for Condos Atop Historic Chelsea Post Office [DNAinfo]
· Old Chelsea Station coverage [Curbed]
Photo via PropertyShark
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