Happy Living Development is looking to convert a Prospect Heights rectory into a residential complex.
The firm, headed by Levi Balkany, pre-filed permits for a five-story mixed-use building at 834 Pacific Street. Plans call for a 90,000-square-foot property with 69,000 square feet of residential space divided between 88 apartments. The building will also contain 20,000 square feet of community facility space. Planned amenities include a tenant gym and a storage area. It will also have a doctor’s office at the basement.
The proposed structure will replace a three-story building that sits within the grounds of Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. The property was previously the subject of a legal dispute between the Catholic Church and developer Mike Kohn. The church terminated Kohn’s 99-year leasehold interest in the property in 2017. This resulted in a lawsuit, with Kohn attempting to prevent the church from nullifying the agreement. The church filed a termination of lease in April.
This is not the first time that Happy Living will convert a place of worship into a secular structure. In 2016, the firm filed permits to turn the former home of the Morning Star Pentecostal Church in Harlem into an 11-story building with 46 apartments.
Happy Living also recently acquired a distressed Harlem asset that once belonged to Hans Futterman. The property, at 300 West 122nd Street, was for years the planned site of 12-story, 127-unit residential complex. Happy Living bought the property from RWN Real Estate Partners for around $70 million.