Columbia University plans to bring a 34-story residential tower to West Harlem amid its massive campus expansion.
The project at 600 West 125th Street will span just over 175,000 square feet and have 142 units for students and faculty, according to an application with the city Department of Buildings. It will replace a decades-old McDonald’s that closed a few months ago.
The university acquired the deed from the fast-food giant in 2004 for about $2.7 million, property records show.
Construction on the tower is expected to start in early 2020 and wrap up by Summer 2022, a university spokesperson said. The project should reduce demand on the local housing market, the spokesperson added. Columbia said it will steer 35 percent of contracting to local-, women- and minority-owned firms.
Though it will stand across from several of the university’s recent construction projects, the new tower is not part of Columbia’s massive Manhattanville campus expansion, the spokesperson said. That 6.8 million-square-foot construction project is spread across 17 acres.
People were complaining about the loss of the McDonald’s? Give me a break. If you’re in that neighborhood and you go to McDonald’s instead of Jimbo’s, you’re a jerk.
They complain about everything, literally. I recall the parcel on the UWS that would sport something like a 700 ft tower, close to Harlem, and they were complaining about the loss of a fenced in patch of half dead grass, with nooo trees and nothing of value. You name the “X” structure or land that will be replaced, and no matter how crappy, “Y” NIMBYS will complain.
Sorry for the off topic post; but this post reminded me of a big story that took place on yet another Architecture Forum that I moderated some years ago. Hope no one minds: if so please do delete - otherwise an interesting and instructive story. I remember that is the Mc D where the “five teens” were congregating prior to walking along 125th Street where they attacked a fellow WiredNY forum member. He was a member of the WiredNY forum on NYC Architecture/Art/Real Estate; some here on the Yimby forum may remember WiredNY and this sad story about JB (TOLZ). Many other links on the story to be found here - Wired New York Forum
I thought you were talking about the Columbia doctoral student that died under similar circumstances on Broadway in this McDonald’s neck of the woods, two years later.
At least for this neighborhood a lot has changed in 10 years.
Yes, I have seen that MINK building, but that is quite a few blocks away from this site here on 125th Broadway. I did not walk far from the area in the photo: I went to Fairway food market near by which is on the other side of this cool looking new building on this same CU Campus.
This area really is leaning into taller buildings and it’s exciting to see! Especially since they have so far been at a high caliber of architectural design. Certainly one of the more unexpected districts of NYC to go vertical in the last decade, but it’s about time northern Manhattan got its due.
This is beautiful. All of my kids were born at Columbia on 165th, and I always thought that this whole stretch from 125th through 165th and beyond was a diamond in the rough.
