Former Roseland Ballroom Will Be Reaching For the Stars

Algin Management has unveiled plans for the redevelopment of the Roseland Ballroom. The former ice skating rink at 239 West 52nd Street will be razed and replaced by a 59-story, 468,000 square foot mixed-use tower. The project will have 426 luxury apartments with retail occupying the first three floors of the base. A 650-foot high rooftop veranda will offer residents an indoor/outdoor pool and lounge, overlooking both Central Park to the North and Midtown Manhattan to the South.

The building will have a futuristic form, defined by undulating curves and wide, open windows. Below, the base cascades to the street, opening up the lower retail levels.

The building’s exterior will be punctuated by extrusions that give the project a Jetsons-like feel.  The project will have 426 apartments in total, including a four bedroom penthouse.

New construction in area around the legendary Midtown ballroom has been booming since 2012, with three projects completed two blocks to the north — at 1717 Broadway, 237 West 54th Street, and 250 West 55th Street — and yet another new tower will add to the neighborhood’s heights.

Despite standing 59 floors, the new tower will not make a significant impact on the skyline.  At 650 feet tall, the building will be shorter than many neighbors. While views to the West will be mostly unobstructed, from the East, the skyscraper will be all but invisible.

To create the new tower, the developer has purchased 58,214 feet of transferable rights from the Majestic at 245 West 44th Street and another 4,015 feet from the Broadhurst Theater at 235 W. 44th Street.

A 15-year-old zoning plan allows landmarked Broadway theaters to sell and transfer air rights within the district, and not just on the same block or across the street as with regular zoning.

The subdistrict runs from West 40th to West 57th Streets between Sixth and Eighth Avenues.

The Theater Subdistrict zoning that provides for air rights transfers within an area around Broadway has enabled prominent theaters to be preserved while providing funds for other theater-related uses.

Overall, Roseland’s replacement will be a major net gain for the neighborhood as the ballroom sat empty much of the time.

After nearly a century of existence, the historic Roseland Ballroom will shut its doors in April 2014.

No completion date has been announced, but demolition of the existing structure is expected to begin this summer.


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