Demolition is finishing up at 124-125 White Street, the site of the Manhattan Detention Complex (MDC) in Chinatown, Manhattan. Led by design-build organization Gramercy Group Inc., the $2.13 billion project will replace the aging detention center known as “The Tombs” with a 15- to 17-story facility standing 295 feet tall and spanning 1.25 million square feet. The property is bound by Walker Street to the north, the Manhattan Criminal Court Building to the south, Baxter Street to the east, and Centre Street to the west. The demolition process is slated to cost $125 million.
The entire L-shaped building was razed since our last update in early August 2023, when metal scaffolding wrapped around the entire façade in preparation for the 12-month demolition process. Recent photographs show the site filled with large piles of dirt and rubble, with multiple excavators working to clear the debris.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Meanwhile, the second jail structure along the southern end of the site is fully shrouded in black netting and scaffolding and is in the process of being razed from the top down.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
No finalized renderings have been released for the project, which is proceeding after a brief pause in demolition due to the opposition of local Chinatown residents, neighborhood activists, and elected officials including Assemblywoman Grace Lee, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, and City Council Member Christopher Marte, who argued in favor of an adaptive reuse of the former facility. The Adams administration overturned their decision on the grounds that the adaptive reuse would be “impractical” and “not appropriate.”
125 White Street is among four new upcoming detention facilities being constructed across New York City at a cost of $8.7 billion to accommodate the closing of Rikers Island.
No official timetables have been released for the new facilities, though past announcements have targeted 2027 at the earliest.
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What will be the income requirements for the new residents? Will there be affordable units?
You’re joking right?
lol
why don’t you go to Ferrari store and ask if there’s a 30k car
Very good, David!
Facility management is the first controversy, from the leader of a development: Thanks to Michael Young.
It should be 100 stories taller.
It should be 100 stories lower.
It should be exactly the amount of stories it is.
Anyone know what’s going to become of Rikers? Assuming they demo everything (some will want to repurpose jails), will it become a natural area, or be developed?
I expect decades to pass before anything major is done to redevelop Rikers. It will still be used in some capacity by corrections and the city for years to come.
I actually think it’s most realistic future use might be as part of an enlarged and reconfigured LGA runway layout with the current water in between filled in.
And then the rest perhaps a nature park.
The current runways pass to the east and south sides of Rikers. The island property would not be so useful for runway extension, likely a needed matter. There would have to be major alterations at LGA to use the Rikers area.
I fail to see that the Rikers problem is due to infrastructure. It seems to be more a matter of management. Why should we expect the new prisons to be any better? Granted the location is inconvenient for transporting prisoners to the various courthouses in the city and local prisons would make sense.
Thanks, NFA and David of Flushing for your well-considered responses!
This was going to be a 600’ 70 story building (or something similarly outrageous), I’m glad they have right sized it. But shouldn’t the new prison be in a more central location, maybe Broadway in midtown? Just joking. These development contracts are a mess. Did the developer buy the land from the city? The cost is ludicrous considering the land is being added in. Manhattan construction is crazy, but land costs are crazy and turn many buildings in billion dollar projects. This is graft gone wild. Shame on the power brokers of NYC and the State.
You haven’t a shred of evidence to support anything you just claimed.
Will the new structure include parking, or will DOC continue to park all over the sidewalks?
if the old Manhattan jail wasn’t fit for purpose anymore (to the point that a full tear-down job was the only option) then City Hall needs to take a HARD look at the equally old courthouse next door . . .