Developer Wants To Raze West Village Houses, Report Says

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A developer has created plans to demolish the 42 buildings that make up the West Village Houses and to replace them with luxury high-rises, the Architect's Newspaper reported.

The West Village Houses, home to an estimated 1,000 New Yorkers, are believed to be the only housing complex designed with direct input and advice from the legendary urbanist Jane Jacobs. Jacobs is most famous for her opposition to the urban planing proposed by Robert Moses in Greenwich Village during the 1950s and 1960s.

The development firm Madison Equities had proposed demolishing all 42 of the complex's five-story buildings, the Architect's Newspaper reported after viewing copies of the plans. Madison Equities did not respond to an email from Patch to confirm the plans or provide additional details about them.

The complex, which converted to cooperative housing in 2006, is set to lose a tax break in March, meaning that residents are scrambling to find a way to keep the housing affordable. Madison Equities has reportedly proposed to purchase the entire complex and replace it with luxury high-rises.

Preservationists have already expressed shock at the existence of the plans. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has strongly condemned any plans to demolish the buildings.

"GVSHP has been closely monitoring the situation, as we have a special interest in West Village Houses, the only development that Jane Jacobs had a hand in shaping, which embodies the highly influential and noteworthy planning principles she espoused," the society said in a statement. "West Village Houses resulted from the local community’s successful efforts to stop Robert Moses’ plans to bulldoze this area and build a sea of high-rise towers."

Image credit: Drew Angerer / Staff / Getty Images News