More single-room occupancy hotels are vanishing from the Manhattan landscape. Earlier this month, Icon Realty Management submitted plans to convert 346 W. 71st St. into 35 presumed condos, according to a YIMBY report.
Currently, the property has 119 hotel rooms across seven stories. Each floor has around 18 to 19 rooms spanning 280 square feet and would be converted to condos that span 964 square feet.
DXA Studio, the architectural firm handling the 33,755 square foot renovation, is also in charge of the connected property located at 350 W. 71st St. The sister property filed for 55 apartments in 29,876 square feet, making each unit around 543 square feet. It was approved with the help of expeditor JM Zoning.
The building at 346 will require Landmarks Preservation Commission approval. The building itself is not a designated landmark, but the land it sits on falls within a landmark preserved zone. West 71st Street, between Riverside and West End, is a chunk of the West End-Collegiate Historic District zone, which was extended in 2013.
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According to city records, the buildings at 346 and 350 W. 71st St. were developed by Kate C. Brown and designed by William H. Boylan. Back when they were first built, the owners of existing row homes in the neighborhood opposed construction and were overruled since the developments were, at the time, intended as mid or upper-grade apartments. Then, in the 1940s, the apartments were converted into SROs and named Riverside Studios.
While plans for 346 W. 71st St. have been filed and 350 W. 71st St. is approved for conversion, both properties are still listed for sale on Cushman & Wakefield for an undesignated amount. The listing description mentions the opportunity for conversion and says both are already gutted, making the renovation swifter for potential developers in the Upper West Side.
In total, both buildings gross 65,772 square feet with another 10,000 feet below grade. There is also roof area for outdoor and amenity space, providing views of both the water and cityscape. In addition, the property was overbuilt by 20,000 square feet, which is far larger than what developers can build with the current zoning laws in the area. As the listing defines, the new owner would require LPC approval for any exterior alterations.
Back in 2012, an affiliate of Icon Realty purchased the two properties, plus 342 West 71st St., for a total of $18.5 million — about half of what another buyer was supposed to pay in 2007, according The Real Deal.