Upper East Side Gets First Look At New Medical School Tower

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side community board got its first look Wednesday at the planned residential tower being built by Well Cornell Medicine on the site of a longtime church.

The 16-story dormitory building will rise on the corner of York Avenue and East 74th Street: the current site of Church of the Epiphany, an Episcopal church built in 1939. The medical school, headquartered a few blocks south, first filed plans last fall for the new tower.

Now, within months, Weill Cornell will begin tearing down the Epiphany building, followed by excavation on the new tower that will span much of 2023, representative Christina DeRose told Community Board 8 on Wednesday. Construction will last 20 months, with the first students moving in during the summer of 2025.

Church of the Epiphany, meanwhile, is still set for a spring 2022 move-in at its new home: the former Jan Hus Presbyterian Church one block west on 74th Street, which it purchased in 2018.

Standing 202 feet tall, the tower will be clad in off-white terra cotta panels and largely match the bulk of other buildings along York Avenue, presenters said.

With 272 beds, it will house about a fifth of Weill Cornell's 1,300 students in the city, who are already spread out across a half-dozen buildings in the neighborhood. Besides dorm rooms, it will include study spaces and gathering areas, a rooftop terrace, and a fitness center.

"This is the culmination of a long process that spans the COVID-19 pandemic," representative Daniel Pollay said, noting that Weill Cornell first purchased the church in early 2019.

The tower requires no zoning changes to be built, meaning Weill Cornell's appearance before CB8 was purely informational. Still, a handful of neighbors expressed reservations about the project: Cos Spagnoletti derided the building's "solid cube" design, which he said could be more "architecturally pleasing"; and Lowell Barton worried about the impact construction would have on 74th Street traffic, which is often congested from FDR Drive users.

Ruppert Park dog run gets unanimous backing

Also at Wednesday's meeting, Community Board 8 voted unanimously to support the inclusion of a dog run at Ruppert Park: the aging Yorkville green space that will soon get a $9 million redesign by the city.

Pet owners have long operated an informal dog run on a grassless patch within the one-acre park, and were dismayed when an initial design revealed in December included no pup playspace.

When the city revised its plans last month, adding a second option that included a dog run, a grassroots group of dog owners mobilized to push that plan over the finish line.

Their efforts appear to have paid off, though the Parks Department will have the final say over Ruppert's redesign.

"We are thrilled that Community Board 8 has voted in favor of an accessible and inclusive design for the renovations that meets the needs of all Upper East Siders, including parents, children, and dog-owners," said Aliyana Traison and Samantha Mellone, co-chairs of the UES Dog Collective Steering Committee, in a statement after Wednesday's vote.

"We are grateful to the community representatives who have taken the time to engage in positive and constructive dialogue with our Collective, to address key logistical concerns, strengthen local partnerships, and ensure best practices going forward," they added, noting that the Collective has drawn up a plan to govern the future dog run's management and upkeep.

Related coverage:

• Upper East Side Church To Be Replaced With Medical School Tower
• A Pooch Push: Grassroots Campaign For UES Dog Run Takes Shape
• Ruppert Park's Latest Redesign Adds Dog Run, Pleasing UES Board
• Upper East Side's Ruppert Park To Get Major Renovation

Have an Upper East Side news tip? Email reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.