Hotelier buys St. Vincent de Paul, two other buildings for $50M

Vatican cleared sale of Chelsea church in February

Hotelier Jeffrey Dagowitz has snapped up three Chelsea properties for $50.4 million, including the Church of St. Vincent de Paul.

The Archdiocese of New York sold the three parcels — 123 West 23rd Street, 116 West 24th Street and 120 West 24th Street — to Dagowitz earlier this month, according to documents filed with the city on Monday. Together, the church-owned buildings span 32,600 square feet.

Though former parishioners fought to save St. Vincent, located at 123 West 23rd Street, from being sold, the Vatican’s Highest Court declined in February to hear their appeal, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

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Dagowitz already owns a property next door to the church at 131 West 23rd Street. He bought the former bed and breakfast in March 2015 for $11.3 million. The previous owner filed plans for a hotel and residential project on the property, and Dagowitz filed a demolition application in May 2015. But it’s not clear if he is sticking to the previous owner’s plans, which have not been approved by the city’s Department of Buildings.

When reached by phone on Tuesday, Dagowitz could not immediately provide additional information on what is planned for the Chelsea sites. In September, a homemade pressure cooker detonated outside 131 West 23rd Street, but that property and Dagowitz’s other new buildings were not damaged.