Vanbarton files plans to convert Catholic Church Sutton Place office to 420-unit apartment
1011 First Avenue (Credit - Google)
Vanbarton Group filed plans with the city’s Department of Buildings to convert and expand a long-time Catholic Archdiocese of New York office building at 1011 First Avenue in Sutton Place, Manhattan, to a 420-unit apartment building.
Bloomberg first reported in October 2024 that the church signed an agreement to sell the building to Vanbarton Group for “more than” $100 million. As of publication of this article, no property sale has been recorded in public records and no petition filed with the State Supreme Court seeking approval from the Attorney General of New York to sell the property, according to a PincusCo review of public records. However, the Vanbarton Group filed a certification dated May 5 stating it was the owner of the property.
Joseph Chilelli, a principal of Vanbarton Group, through the entity X11 First Ave LLC, submitted the major alteration application for the renovation and expansion of the 20-story office building. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on May 7, 2025 under job number M01216837. It calls for the increase in size of the building from a 20-story building with no dwelling units to a 26-story building with 420 dwelling units. The project is described in the filing as: application filed for the conversion and enlargement of existing building as shown.
The plan calls for an increase in the zoning square feet to 351,975 square feet, with nearly all of that residential. Of the total, 7,399 square feet will be retail on the first floor and lower level.
1011 First Avenue
| wdt_ID | floor | comment | description | persons_permitted | occupancy_label | zoning_use | dwelling_units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cellar | RETAIL STORAGE | Storage of non combustible Materials | 10 | Storage | ||
| 2 | Cellar | MECHANICAL AREAS, ELECTRICAL ROOM, STEAM ROOM, COMPACTOR ROOM, POOL EQUIPMENT ROOM | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 0 | Factory and Industrial | ||
| 3 | Cellar | MENS LOCKER ROOM, WOMENS LOCKER ROOM, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OFFICE, SUPERS OFFICE, BREAK ROOM, WORKSHOP (ACCESSORY TO RESIDENTIAL USE) | Apartment | 51 | Residential | ||
| 4 | Cellar | BIKE STORAGE ROOM (2401 SF, 210 BIKES) | Storage of non combustible Materials | 12 | Storage | ||
| 5 | Cellar | ACCESSORY RESIDENTIAL AMENITIES (POOL - 30 PEOPLE, SPA - 15 PEOPLE, KIDS ROOM - 10 PEOPLE, GOLF SIMULATOR - 5 PEOPLE, PODCAST ROOM - 5 PEOPLE, GYM - 15 PEOPLE, FOCUS ROOM - 1 PERSON) | Apartment | 81 | Residential | ||
| 6 | 1 | PACKAGE ROOM (ACCESSORY TO RESIDENTIAL) | Storage of non combustible Materials | 5 | Storage | ||
| 7 | 1 | BASKETBALL COURT (RESIDENTIAL AMENITY) | Apartment | 74 | Residential | ||
| 8 | 1 | RETAIL | Retail Sale | 291 | Mercantile | ||
| 9 | 1 | LOADING BERTHS (TWO) | Storage of non combustible Materials | 9 | Storage | ||
| 10 | 1 | PET SPA (RESIDENTIAL AMENITY) | Apartment | 15 | Residential | ||
| 11 | 1 | RESIDENTIAL LOBBY AND MAIL ROOM | Apartment | 0 | Residential | ||
| 12 | 2 | ELECTRICAL ROOM, GENERATOR ROOM | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 0 | Factory and Industrial | ||
| 13 | 2 | 19 CLASS "A" DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 19 | |
| 14 | 2 | TENANT STORAGE | Storage of non combustible Materials | 3 | Storage | ||
| 15 | 3 | TENANT STORAGE | Storage of non combustible Materials | 2 | Storage | ||
| 16 | 3 | ELECTRICAL ROOM | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 1 | Factory and Industrial | ||
| 17 | 3 | 32 CLASS "A" DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 32 | |
| 18 | 4 | 32 CLASS "A" DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 32 | |
| 19 | 4 | ELECTRICAL ROOM | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 1 | Factory and Industrial | ||
| 20 | 4 | TENANT STORAGE | Storage of non combustible Materials | 2 | Storage | ||
| 21 | 5 | 32 CLASS "A" DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 32 | |
| 22 | 5 | ELECTRICAL ROOM | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 1 | Factory and Industrial | ||
| 23 | 5 | TENANT STORAGE | Storage of non combustible Materials | 2 | Storage | ||
| 24 | 6 | 32 CLASS "A" DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 32 | |
| 25 | 6 | ELECTRICAL ROOM | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 1 | Factory and Industrial |
The property
The specialty building in Sutton Place has 398,214 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has two buildings with frontage of 200 feet and is 214 feet deep with a total lot size of 35,681 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R10 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $121.9 million.
Violations and lawsuits
According to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation and $3,875 in OATH penalties in the last year.
There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.
The neighborhood
In Sutton Place, The majority, or 70 percent of the 5.2 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space. In sales, Sutton Place has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $31.1 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 43rd highest in Manhattan. For development, Sutton Place has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 45th highest in Manhattan. It had 21,337 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 0.41 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the five commercial properties representing 186,000 square feet of the 1,178,038 square feet. The identified owner is Korman Communities. There are no other active new building construction projects on this tax block.
The surrounding
Within a 400-foot radius of 1011 First Avenue, PincusCo identified one commercial real estate item of interests occurred over the past 24 months. It was a loan which Robert Kushner and Michael Wind borrowed $7.8 million from Berkadia Commercial Mortgage secured by the 111,792-square-foot, 132-unit rental (D6) on 994 1st Avenue on February 12, 2024.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.