Harlem Baptist Church to be Replaced by 8-Story Apartment Building

HARLEM, NY — Plans have been filed to demolish an baptist church in Harlem and replace the building with an 8-story mixed use building containing 27 apartment units.

The Second Canaan Baptist Church has occupied its current space on Lenox Avenue near West 11th Street since 1956, according to the congregation's website. Real estate records show that in July the congregation leased the building to an LLC based in Bushwick called 10 Lenox Holdings.

The new building on 10 Lenox Avenue will rise eight stories, two of which will be occupied by the congregation and the rest by apartments, according to plans filed with the Department of Buildings.

The first two floors of the new building will feature the church's lobby, two sanctuaries and church offices, according to the building plans. The church will also have access to a kitchen in the building's cellar. In total, 10,986 square feet will be zoned for church purposes.

The rest of the building, 28,544 square feet, will be used for residential purposes. Residential tenants will have their own lobby on the first floor and the 27 apartments will be located on floors three through eight, according to the building plans.

The application with the Department of Buildings has been processed, but the plans do not show whether they have been approved or rejected. The plans identify Isaac & Strent Architects as the firm that will be designing the new building.

Plans to demolish the existing church were filed on Nov. 17 and approved the same day.

Photo by Google Maps street view May 2016