[hunser]

Another midtown project could reach the heavens, God willing
May 3, 2015
By Joe Anuta

A church on West 57th Street will soon decide whether it will sell its sanctuary and 197-room hotel to a developer who could erect yet another super-tall luxury tower on a single block—further transforming the city's skyline.

A sale of the Calvary Baptist Church and the Salisbury Hotel at 123 W. 57th St. would add a sizable piece to Extell Development's years-long effort to amass a number of contiguous properties there, and would allow it to potentially build a third high-rise on the same block as its 1,000-foot-tall One57 and the 1,400-foot-tall Steinway Tower being built by JDS Development.

Extell's plans have not been made public, but observers believe the collection of parcels could permit a project similar in scale to its 75-story One57 a few doors down. The potential sale has community leaders up in arms over real estate laws that allow developers to stockpile development rights and erect super-tall buildings without public input.

The church, meanwhile, is consulting with its congregants and a higher authority to determine how it might part with an asset believed to be worth more than $100 million.

"We look forward to a year in which God guides us through the challenges of everyday service, and brings a conclusion to our journey through the land of redevelopment and building study," John Clenance, chair of Calvary Baptist's Board of Deacons, wrote in a year-end report posted on the church's website.

A vote on the sale—prompted by rising maintenance costs, the economics of running a hotel and a dwindling capital fund—is expected by year's end, according to a January bulletin to church members that was obtained by Crain's.

Representatives from Extell, Calvary Baptist Church and the Salisbury Hotel declined to comment.

Though Extell has already bought several adjoining properties, the footprint of any future project could be doubled by a green light from the congregation, which is considering a number of options. Many in the community believe the most likely course would be a sale to the developer, which would demolish the structures and include a new and bigger sanctuary in whatever takes their place. Alternatively, the church could allow Extell to tear down the hotel but preserve the sanctuary, which occupies only the lower floors in one of the two buildings at 123 W. 57th St. Doing so, however, would trigger building-code requirements that would force the congregation to reduce the number of church seats to 600 from 800, according to the bulletin.

If the church decides not to sell but instead reposition the hotel, its verdict would probably stymie Extell's carefully laid plans for the block.

Extell, led by Gary Barnett, is known for assembling properties over a long period of time to combine into a single, large development site. On this particular West 57th Street block, the company already has purchased three other buildings surrounding the church and is currently negotiating buyouts with rent-regulated tenants, Crain's has learned. Some of the units in 134 W. 58th St. also serve as graduate housing for students at Fordham University, according to the school's website.

If Extell were to tear down the church, the hotel and the three buildings, a structure of at least 325,000 square feet could be built there, according to a rough estimate based on city zoning documents and not accounting for any zoning bonuses offered for the inclusion of affordable housing or improvements to nearby subway stations.

But many organizations, including the Municipal Art Society, believe that Mr. Barnett has extra development rights left over from the planning of Extell's 430,000-square-foot One57 project, which could be transferred to whatever the firm might be planning for the church site.

Members of Community Board 5, which represents midtown, oppose the way super-tall towers are being developed in the area around One57, which will soon count as its neighbors a 950-foot building being developed by Vornado and another Extell project, the 1,400-foot Nordstrom Tower.

But there is not much they can do. Mr. Barnett has been simply shifting around the total amount of square feet that is already allowed on the block, and not actually adding any density, meaning he could build another tower without public approvals.

A 1,200 footer would look great here, adding some variety in height.