As St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers - the umbrella organization for several hospitals and healthcare facilities - emerged from bankruptcy in February 2007, it announced plans to build a new hospital to replace its flagship facility in Greenwich Village. St. Vincent’s says it needs the new facility because the layout of its current facility is outdated and impractical.

St. Vincent’s original plans consisted of a 21-story (329 feet-tall), 625,000 square-feet LEED certified hospital facility with 366 beds, 18 operating rooms, and a new emergency room. The new hospital, which would be the first all-digital hospital in New York City, was slated be built on the site currently occupied by the O’Toole building on the west side of Seventh Avenue between W. 12th and 13th Streets. The Hospital planned to finance its $700 million facilities by selling its properties on the east side of Seventh Avenue between W. 11th and 12th Streets to the Rudin Management Company for $310 million. Rudin’s initial plans for developing the land included building 450 luxury housing units, 15,000 square-feet of ground-floor retail, and 22,500 square-feet of medical office buildings. The proposed development, which would demolish four buildings and adapt four others, was slated to include townhouses, a mid-rise building, and a 266 feet-tall luxury condominium tower facing Seventh Avenue.

To help champion public support for the project, St. Vincent’s created an organization, “Friends of the New St. Vincent’s”, that is co-chaired by former Mayor Ed Koch. Some in the neighborhood, led by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), are concerned, however, about the height and bulk of the new hospital and the largest residential building, suggesting the buildings would not fit within the character of the historic district. GVSHP continues to assert that the scope outlined in the City's proposed Draft Environmental Impact Statement is inadequate and does not include a study of lower density alternatives.

Although none of St. Vincent’s properties are individually landmarked, all are located in the Greenwich Village Historic District and therefore development requires approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). At the LPC’s first public hearing on the matter in April 2008, turnout to the hearing was so large that the Commission continued the hearing for a second day two weeks later.

In early May 2008, the LPC rejected St. Vincent's proposal as originally conceived. Following the LPC rejection of the initial plans, St. Vincent’s released a revised set of plans that scaled back tower heights and bulk. Though the modifications appeased some critics, one continued point of contention was St. Vincent’s proposed demolition of the distinctive O’Toole building. At an LPC hearing on the revised plans, several elected officials, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan 3rd District), Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan 8th District), and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer (D) voiced their support for the hospital’s revised plans, including the demolition of the O’Toole Building. However, the LPC maintained that the demolition of the O’Toole building was inappropriate in regards to its location in the historic district.

St. Vincent's thereafter filed a 'hardship' petition with the LPC, claiming that the demolition and development plan is the only financially viable option that enables the hospital to meet its charitable purpose. On October 28, 2008, the LPC approved St. Vincent's plans to demolish the O'Toole Building, reiterating that in terms of landmarking the demolition was inappropriate but finding that in terms of hardship, demolition was acceptable.

In March 2009, a coalition of community and preservation groups (including the GVSHP) sued the LPC and St. Vincent’s, citing concerns that the LPC did not follow the hardship requirements as established by the Supreme Court when approving demolition plans. The groups argue that because the O'Toole building still functions adequately as a hospital building, no hardship has been established. Andrew Berman, Executive Director for the GVSHP, has explained that the GVSHP does not find the O'Toole Building to be historically significant but instead only opposed St. Vincent's hardship argument.

On July 7, 2009, the LPC approved Rudin’s revised plan to build approximately 400 residential units with the luxury condo tower reduced to 203 feet and St. Vincent’s revised plan with the medical tower reduced to 286 feet-tall. Costs have ballooned since original estimates, despite many reductions in the height and bulk of the proposed buildings. Revised cost estimates for the hospital facility have increased to $830 million and overall development costs, including Rudin’s portion, have increased to $1.6 billion.

In addition to the pending lawsuit, St. Vincent’s revised development plans must still undergo the Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) and be approved by the City Planning Commission and City Council. The ULURP process will not begin until the Environmental Impact Statement is completed. If approved, Rudin’s residential development will not begin until the medical facilities are complete.

Last Updated: January 13, 2010