Private school permitted for $3.9M conversion of former Chelsea Art Museum to 28K sf school

Spring Education Group, on May 28, was given a permit for a $3.9 million project to covert the former Chelsea Art Museum to a 28,819-square-foot school building at 556 West 22nd Street in Chelsea.

Spring Education Group signed a 20-year lease at the building in the early fall of last year.

The building has been owned by Albanese Development since 2010, after they acquired the property for $19.35 million at Chelsea Art Museum’s bankruptcy auction in 2010.

The plans, pre-filed on October 5, 2020, call for no change in size but a change in use of the 58-foot tall, three-story building.

The project is described in the filings as: application filed for general construction in conjunction with change of use, egress and occupancy for new proposed school. Obtain new certificate of occupancy. The initial cost as reported in the DOB filing for the work described in this permit application is $3,907,296.

Per the plans, the new project will bring classrooms, administrative rooms, a kitchen, and multipurpose rooms to the ground floor of the building. The second floor will have offices, classrooms, reading rooms, labs and storage. The roof will have two play areas.

Inhabit Design is the architect.

Direct link to Acris document. LINK

Direct link to DOB document. LINK