Developer Files Plans For New Harlem Church As Part Of $16M Deal

HARLEM, NY — Plans to construct a new church building for a Harlem congregation that sold its property for $16 million last year were recently filed with the city Department of Buildings, according to city records.

The new seven-story church will rise on a site adjacent to the Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church's current building on Madison Avenue and East 126th Street, according to building plans. The building includes space for a sanctuary, main chapel, classrooms, kitchen and a pastor's apartment.

Developers, who bought the congregation's land under the anonymous name 1975 Madison LLC, agreed to build the church in a 2019 land deal. The Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church had been exploring a deal with developers since 2018, New York 1 reported at the time.

"The goal is to increase our capacity," Rev. Richard Hayes told NY1 in 2018. "The goal is to build a new facility that enables us to do new and enhanced ministries."

Real estate publication the Real Deal later identified Azimuth Development Group and Round Square Development as the companies behind the LLC.

The church filed demolition plans for its historic building with the city Department of Buildings in January. The 19th-century building had been deteriorating over the years and was not being used when plans were filed.

The Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church posted on its Facebook page in September 2018 that a portion of the church building's ceiling had collapsed and that the foundation was not stable enough for repairs.