Historic Upper West Side school will become a 19-story condo

Plans to replace the former home of Upper West Side’s Collegiate School are officially moving forward, the New York Post has learned. Previously, the adjacent but not related West End Collegiate Church purchased the buildings from the school and were planning to convert them into a 66-unit residential development. Now the project has been taken over by Alchemy Properties, the same developer behind the conversion of the upper floors of the Woolworth building.

Alchemy purchased the properties—at 260-262 West 78th Street and 378 West End Avenue—for $158 million; the sale closed last week. The existing buildings at the site will be demolished, and a 19-story structure will rise at 378 West End Avenue. This will be joined with a new 12-story building that will rise at 260-262 West 78th Street. Eventually, the condo development will front on West 78th Street, between Broadway and West End Avenue.

Alchemy is partnering with South Korean investment bank, Daishin Securities, to develop the condo, and it has retained the services of COOKFOX Architects for the design. COOKFOX had designed the original plan for the site, which was approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission back in 2015. The sites fall within the West End-Collegiate Historic District.

The new development will bring between 58 to 62 new apartments to the Upper West Side. The condo will also have about 20,000 square feet of amenities, according to the NYP. These could include a swimming pool, a children’s playroom, a squash court, and a gym. Construction on the condo is expected to get underway sometime this fall. Earlier this year, the Collegiate School moved to its new home, a few blocks south, at 301 Freedom Place South. Stribling and Alchemy Properties will handle sales and marketing at the new condo.

• Ken Horn plans tower on Upper West Side church site [NYP]
• UWS Collegiate School Conversion Gets Landmarks Approval [Curbed]