Cypress Hills Monastery Could Be Razed for Apartments

Cloistered nuns left the Carmelite monastery in Cypress Hills just over three years ago. A developer plans to rezone the church-owned site at 341 Highland Boulevard to build a nine-story, 345-unit apartment complex. A consultant presented plans for a 95-foot-tall, 279,208-square-foot building to Community Board 5’s Land Use Committee. City of Yes zoning changes would allow multi-family development on areas previously limited to smaller homes, but the developer wants to build larger than what those changes permit and plans to apply for spot rezoning. The proposal would replace four of five monastery buildings owned by the Catholic Diocese, while preserving a three-story Edwardian house near the street. Community Board 5 added the item after learning of the plans and received substantial local feedback, moving the meeting to a larger venue.

"The cloistered nuns moved out of the Carmelite monastery on the edge of Highland Park in Cypress Hills just over three years ago. Now a developer with plans of rezoning the site to build a nine-story, 345-unit apartment complex on the church-owned site appears to be moving in, and some locals are already organizing against their new neighbor."

"With City of Yes zoning changes, developers can now, in many cases, build multi-family buildings on areas that previously allowed only single-, two-family, and semi-detached homes, as was the case for much of Highland Boulevard. The revision could mean streetscapes with historic standalone houses, such as Highland Boulevard, could see big changes in coming years. However, Watermark Capital wants to build even larger than what is allowed with City of Yes changes, and is planning to apply for a spot rezoning to accommodate that."

"The presentation shows the development would replace four of the five buildings that make up the monastery, owned by the Catholic Diocese, which backs onto upper Highland Park's grassy hills. The three-story red brick Edwardian house near the street on the western side of the site, previously home to individuals contemplating religious life, will be preserved in the plans. The dwelling dates back to the early 20th century, with alterations made in the 1970s, records show."

"A rep for Community Board 5 said the item was added to the board's agenda at the last minute after board members got wind of the plans through the community and asked the developer to share the plans with the land use committee. Already the proposal has generated a lot of feedback from locals, the rep said, and the meeting was moved to a bigger venue to accommodate a large audi"

Read at Brownstoner