Plans submitted for a residential building at 250 Church
The new(ish) owners of 250 Church — the former city office building between Leonard and Franklin now called 101 Franklin — have submitted plans to City Planning for a 21-story, 117-unit residential building rising 314 feet — another 107 feet above the current structure. Their plans require a zoning change not just for height, but for the residential conversion and the addition of accessory parking on the site.
The proposal will come before Community Board 1’s Land Use committee on March 9; the build year is 2029. The owners are the global private equity firm TPG in a joint venture with Skylight Real Estate Partners and Cannon Hill Capital Partners.
The current 1948 building — which has already been disassembled since it was sold originally in 2019 — is 207 feet tall with an 11-story base and another six stories after the setback. The building goes back 60 feet on the Leonard Street side and 76 feet on the Franklin side, with 205,000 square feet. It sits right outside both the Tribeca East and Tribeca West historic districts.
If the proposal is rejected, the building will be renovated as a Class A commercial office space with ground floor retail. In that case the building would be complete before 2029.
The proposed actions would allow the height of the building to reach 261 feet — 314 with bulkhead — from the current 207 feet. There would be a larger courtyard in the back to allow for light and air for bedrooms. The proposal also adds 15 accessory, self-automated parking spaces. There would be 2600 square feet of retail. The units would all be market-rate.
The northern portion of the base would rise to 11 stories and the southern portion would rise to 15 stories. Above the base, the building would be set back 10 feet from Church Street and 15 feet from both Leonard Street and Franklin Street before rising to the full proposed height of 21 stories.
The proposed action suggests both 117 and 72 dwelling units, but I can’t tell which is more likely. I believe the greater number of units would allow the proposal to be “Green Fast Tracked” by the new City of Yes rules passed in 2024 In that case, the units would be 2000 square feet each. But my guess is the developers prefer the bigger units…
