EAST HARLEM, NY — A long-empty lot on 125th Street could be transformed by a 25-story hotel tower, according to a developer's newly revealed proposal.
The plans call for a 245-foot-tall building at 58-62 East 125th St., between Park and Madison avenues. Documents laying out the project appeared on a city website this week, though they are dated from June 2021.
For the tower to be built, the city would need to approve a number of zoning changes proposed by the developer, Moris YeroShalmy, of the Long Island-based real estate company ABCNY.
If approved, the development would include a 305-room hotel covering 115,000 square feet of the building, plus more than 12,300 square feet of retail and 5,200 square feet devoted to visual or performing arts.
That latter component was likely made possible by the 2008 rezoning of 125th Street, which gave developers the ability to build bigger projects in exchange for including space for art uses like galleries, historical exhibitions, museums, theaters or performance venues. (Plans for the new building do not give any details about its art space.)
An attorney for YeroShalmy did not immediately respond to a request for details about the proposed building. Other projects developed by YeroShalmy and his company include a recently-built colorful hotel in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, an upcoming apartment building in the Morris Heights area of the Bronx, and another hotel in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The midblock lot has sat completely empty since around 2019, when a four-story building that once stood at 62 East 125th St. was torn down. The next-door lot at 58 East 125th has been vacant since at least 2009, according to Google Maps imagery.
It has fallen into poor condition since then, according to the city — in January, the city requested an emergency order to clean up the lot, saying it had become overrun with rats. (A judge granted the city's request for access to the site.)
If built, the hotel tower would be the latest addition to the booming 125th Street corridor. Other projects in the works include an apartment tower near the Apollo Theater on 126th Street, the Victoria Theater Redevelopment Project on 125th, the future 18-story National Urban League headquarters, a 12-story building planned for 219 West 125th St., and a 21-story tower to be built at 35 West 125th St.
And just a block east on 125th, another has developer filed plans to demolish the historic Harlem Savings Bank building near Lexington Avenue, where he intends to build a multi-story office building, as Patch reported on Monday.
Have a Harlem news tip? Contact reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.
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