St. Luke’s New Building Plans Have Neighbors On Edge

By Brian J Pape, AIA, LEED-AP

St Luke’s new mission building planned for the corner of Hudson and Christopher Streets, will back up to the rowhouses on the left and occupy a part of what is currently the school playground. It will include a large, flexible gathering space and a modest kitchen. The site is part of a master plan for the campus that was submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2013. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.

Plans for a new building at the Church of St Luke in the Fields (487 Hudson Street) are the subject of a recent petition objecting to the project (noted below). Mother Caroline Stacey, rector for 19 years at the Episcopal church located between Christopher and Barrow streets, wrote a New Year’s Day 2024 Mission Building Letter to the Parish. Mother Stacey outlined the steps taken to plan for the growth of existing mission programs at the church. On June 27, 2024, Mother Stacey appeared before a public hearing of Community Board 2 (CB2) Human Services Committee to review the letter and the plans to build a building on its campus to house outreach programs.

The church was constructed by Trinity Church in 1821 and has been attributed to both John Heath, the building contractor, and James N. Wells. The church building was damaged by fire twice, in 1886 and again in 1981, when the parish hall was also destroyed but not rebuilt. After the latter fire, the church was reconstructed by Hugh Hardy of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, who restored much of its original Federal style touches. There is a small basement fellowship hall in the church, and a parish office in one of the many historic rowhouses that at one time had completely circled the entire block. When the church became independent in the 1970s, it also became the landlord of the whole block.

St. Luke’s School is a coeducational elementary and middle school with an enrollment of about 340 students. The use of the schoolyard was loaned to the school but was not covered by its lease when the school became independent of the church in 2012.

The strategic planning done by the church over the past 17 years includes:

  • matured the governance relationship with the school which operates as an independent Episcopal day school;
  • implemented strategic, missional deployment of the real estate assets, with 20% affordable housing in the new co-op building (about 35 units at 100 Barrow Street);
  • renovated the ten historic townhouses, the parish house and offices;
  • air-conditioned and refurbished the church interior;
  • hired BKSK Architects to design a mission space within the budget. BKSK has designed many buildings in this historic district that have passed muster with Landmarks Preservation Commission. The proposed building on the corner of Hudson and Christopher streets, backing up to the rowhouses to the north of the church and occupying a part of what is currently the school playground, will include a large, flexible gathering space for outreach and hospitality along with a modest kitchen. The site is part of a campus master plan that was submitted to the Commission in 2013. An entrance to the building is expected to be on Christopher Street. A second egress will be at the rear (western side) of the building and will be secured to create a barrier from the school. The non-residential building will constitute roughly 6,000 square feet on a single floor and will operate from 9 am to 9 pm.

All of the programs listed by St. Luke’s are existing programs on this block and many have been there for 30 years. Contrary to rumors, Mother Stacey stated that the new building will not house a substance treatment center, senior housing, nor a drop-in center.

Questions from the public at the June 2024 meeting and since then expressed concerns:

  • loss of school playground space;
  • the church could run out of funding;
  • impediments presented by Landmarks Preservation Commission approval;
  • the safety of school children, vicinity to the PATH train, etc.;
  • impact of construction on the neighbors;
  • support for the church’s mission, but opposition to the location of the new building;
  • requests that Mother Stacey return to CB2 to further flesh out plan details and respond to community concerns.On April 7, 2025 a petition was created by Preserve our Community! Oppose St. Luke’s New Mission Building on Change.org. To date, nearly 2,000 signatures have been collected and 72% of supporters come from local zip codes 10014, 10011, and 10013. Further details have not been announced, BKSK has not provided any renderings, and community concerns have not been publicly addressed. Repeated inquiries to the church office by The Village View have not been answered.