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As of July 7, 2010, we have suspended daily news updating on this website, and will not be adding new developments or policy and legislative debates.

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St. Vincent’s Expansion

As St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers - the umbrella organization for several hospitals and health care 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 St. Vincent’s says it needed the new facility because the layout of its current facility was outdated and impractical.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 West 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 West 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." Some in the neighborhood, led by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), were concerned, however, about the height and bulk of the new hospital and the proposed large residential building, suggesting the buildings would not fit within the character of the historic district. GVSHP also asserted that the scope outlined in the City's proposed Draft Environmental Impact Statement was inadequate and did not include a study of lower density alternatives.

Although none of St. Vincent’s properties are individually designated as landmarks, all are located in the Greenwich Village Historic District, and therefore development requires approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

In early May 2008, the LPC rejected St. Vincent's proposal. Following the LPC rejection, 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. The LPC, however, maintained that demolishing the O’Toole building was inappropriate.

St. Vincent's then filed a 'hardship' petition with the LPC, claiming that the demolition and development plan was the only financially viable option that enabled the hospital to meet its charitable purpose. On October 28, 2008, the LPC approved St. Vincent's plans to demolish the O'Toole Building. LPC maintained that the demolition was inappropriate because of the historical designation, but found that because 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 established by the Supreme Court. The groups argue that because the O'Toole building still functions adequately as a hospital building, no hardship has been established.

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 April 2010, however, plans for a new hospital came to a halt. St. Vincent’s filed for bankruptcy. The original housing plans, supported by Rudin Management, may still move forward.

Last Updated: June 3, 2010