{"id":261750,"date":"2026-06-10T10:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/261750\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:59:09","slug":"childrens-museum-of-manhattan-takes-over-123-year-old-church-in-300m-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/261750\/","title":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s Museum of Manhattan takes over 123-year-old church in $300M project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Children\u2019s Museum of Manhattan takes over 123-year-old church in $300M project<\/p>\n

Like many adaptive reuse projects, a 123-year-old church being converted into the Children\u2019s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) that provides early childhood development through research\u2011based play, learning and cultural experiences, is anything but straightforward.<\/p>\n

Among the project\u2019s complexities is how to \u201cdelicately thread seven floors within the cavernous building while preserving the overall architecture, structure and key spatial features,\u201d says Mary Mahany, senior project executive, Shawmut Design and Construction, general contractor and construction manager for the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are essentially constructing a new building within a century-old church.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"ToCOURTESY SHAWMUT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION \u2014 To date, the project has undergone soft demolition and structural demolition is progressing according to a sequenced schedule. Scaffolding has been erected around the church\u2019s signature white granite fa\u00e7ade for cleaning and restoration work that includes the preservation of the dominating steeple.<\/p>\n

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Overlooking Central Park from Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side, the renewed building will feature programmatic museum space, a caf\u00e9, museum store, performance space and a rooftop terrace.<\/p>\n

To date, the project has undergone soft demolition and structural demolition is progressing according to a sequenced schedule.<\/p>\n

Mahany says interior work is just underway with the construction of a seven-storey interior steel frame and slabs that is commencing in the cellar. The structure will rise through the church\u2019s interior towards the barrel vault ceiling.<\/p>\n

The church will be shored and stabilized with a new foundation to accommodate the new structure. All interior walls, floors and architectural details will have protective coverings.<\/p>\n

DeSimone Consulting Engineers is the structural consultant.<\/p>\n

Scaffolding has been erected around the church\u2019s signature white granite fa\u00e7ade for cleaning and restoration work that includes the preservation of the dominating steeple.<\/p>\n

All of the work is being done in accordance with the church\u2019s landmark designation by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).<\/p>\n

To minimize surprises often associated with adaptive reuse of historic buildings, the team conducted extensive onsite investigations and walkthroughs during the pre-construction phase, says Mahany.<\/p>\n

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\"ThisCOURTESY SHAWMUT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION \u2014 This is the first expansion of the children\u2019s museum in more than 40 years. When completed in 2028, it will double its capacity.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe used digital modelling to develop the best logistics and construction plans and have implemented both Matterport (a 3D scanning platform creating photorealistic models) and OpenSpace (360-degree photo documentation of jobsites) for real-time digital documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The building\u2019s distinctive barrel vault will be a key highlight of the completed space along with the tall, arched windows that let in an abundance of natural light to the interior, says Mahany.<\/p>\n

No stranger to complex adaptive\u2011reuse work in New York and across the U.S., Shawmut had recently completed a project inside a 100\u2011year\u2011old LPC\u2011landmarked structure tucked beneath a 52\u2011storey tower on Fifth Avenue, tying it structurally to an adjacent building. Like the church, it demanded significant structural intervention and an organized sequencing effort, Mahany says.<\/p>\n

This is the first expansion of the children\u2019s museum in more than 40 years. When completed in 2028, it will double the CMOM\u2019s capacity.<\/p>\n

The project is a design by architect FXCollaborative and exhibit designers THG Creative. The church was originally designed in the Beaux Arts style by Carr\u00e8re & Hastings, the firm that designed the iconic main branch of the New York Public Library.<\/p>\n

Total cost for the project is $300 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s Museum of Manhattan takes over 123-year-old church in $300M project Like many adaptive reuse projects, a 123-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-261750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}