Mount Sinai closes bidding on four Upper West Side buildings

Mount Sinai St. Luke’s last week closed the bidding on four Upper West Side properties that have been sitting largely vacant.

The price of the bids and the winning buyer will not be released until early next year, but hospital officials were aiming to sell the buildings for around $130 million. All of the structures are six stories tall, with two of the buildings landmarked and two that could be developed or razed more easily, Crain’s reported. The buildings are situated along Morningside Drive between 113th and 114th streets.

“These underutilized buildings were first opened more than a century ago and no longer permit us to offer state-of-the-art care to our patients,” a Mount Sinai spokesperson told the website. “Selling these mostly vacant properties allows us to reinvest in and revitalize the remainder of our Mount Sinai St. Luke’s campus.”

Mount Sinai took over management of the financially struggling St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in Morningside Heights when it merged with Continuum Health Partners last year. The hospital’s management has been considering property sales since then.

City Council member Mark Levine said there is already concern in the community that the buildings, which are currently configured as office space, will be converted to luxury residential. He said he would advocate for affordable housing on the site.

In April, Stonehenge Partners and SL Green opened a 96-unit residential building that once housed St. Luke’s staff in the neighborhood. [Crain’s] — Tess Hofmann