Manhattan Building With A History Being Converted to Housing

A nine-story Art Deco building in Manhattan, NYC, designed by the same firm behind the Empire State Building is getting new life as housing after originally serving as a YMCA and later, a women’s prison, The Architect’s Newspaper was among outlets to report in July. Shreve, Lamb and Harmon designed 550 West 20th Street in 1931 to house a YMCA. The State of New York bought the structure in the 1970s and converted it into the Bayview Correctional Facility. Since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, it has sat vacant. The 100,000-ft² building is now being transformed by COOKFOX into Liberty Landing, which will add seven new stories and offer 124 permanently affordable residences, including some for those with mental-health needs. The State of New York, Cambe Property Group and Osborne Association are together pledging US$108-million toward the development, which will retain the original Art Deco character.