First look at former Park Slope senior center redevelopment

The conversion of a stately Park Slope building that once served as a lavish hotel for the Knights of Columbus—and more recently as a scandal-plagued senior center—into 63 condos is moving forward, with sales launching this spring. Developed by Sugar Hill Capital Partners, One Prospect Park West will have mostly two- to four-bedroom residences, starting at $1.995 million, according to the developer.

The ten-story building, which overlooks Grand Army Plaza and the western edge of Brooklyn’s backyard, was originally built in 1925 by the Knights of Columbus as a posh hotel and club for members, boasting a bowling alley, ballroom, theater, and rooms for cards and billiards.

Courtesy of One Prospect Park West

In its heyday, One Prospect Park West hosted a slew of shindigs under the ownership of the Knights of Columbus until the property was foreclosed on in the 1950s and the group was forced to relocate to Marine Park, where it currently resides, Brownstoner reported.

A nursing home known as the Madonna Residence occupied the 169,000-square-foot building from 1962 until the facility shuttered in 1994. The building passed to a new owner who maintained it as a home for seniors, this time dubbed The Castle at Prospect Park, according to Brownstoner.

In more recent years, the property housed the Prospect Park West Residence, a nursing home where, in 2016 more than 125 seniors were evicted. Five residents held out and only agreed to move after then-landlord Haysha Deitsch settled a lawsuit brought by the tenants for $3.35 million.

The dispute goes back to 2014 when Deitsch told residents at the assisted-living facility that he agreed to sell the property to Sugar Hill Capital Partners for $84 million and that the elderly tenants had 90 days to move out.

Since then, Sugar Hill has redeveloped the building—which originally sported a brick, limestone, and terra cotta facade—with locally-sourced materials and finishes for “a perfect balance between pre-war and modern design,” the developer says.

One Prospect Park West is the first residential development designed by Workstead, a Brooklyn-based design studio responsible for the chic conversions of industrial buildings, including the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg and the Rivertown Lodge in Hudson. The firm even created a new line of lighting inspired by the Park Slope building known as The Park Collection, which is featured throughout.

The building’s high-end amenities include a private curated art gallery, a wellness club, and a rooftop garden designed by ODA New York.

Sales will be handled exclusively by Douglas Elliman.