Med-lab home run

Gehrig house to be hi-tech facility

NEW York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig, the “Iron Horse” who played in a then-record 2,130 consecutive games from 19251939, was born at 309 E. 94th St.

So it’s altogether appropriate that developer Elevate Research Properties, a subsidiary of Taconic Partners, plans to name a cutting-edge research facility it’s building at the site “Iron Horse Labs.” It’s a tribute to the Hall of Fame first baseman who died in 1941 at age 37, a victim of the paralyzing condition known as ALS, which is commonly called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

“His story can inspire life-saving research,” said Elevate president Matthew Weir.

The 200,000-square-foot project, reported here for the first time, will be leased as a potential “flagship opportunity to medical and scientific research organizations, life-science laboratories and academic medical institutions,” Weir said.

Elevate and its partners, Nuveen Real Estate and Flatiron Equities, bought the land for $70 million, part of their total $350 million development cost. The new building will have features such as a unique, double-height specialty research space, sophisticated energy-efficient systems and several outdoor terraces.

An exterior plaque at the site marking Gehrig’s birthplace, installed by the Yankees in the 1990s, is to be restored and re-installed in the lobby.

Iron Horse’s eight stories are to incorporate an existing five-story structure and new construction on the site of small buildings to be demolished. The facade design includes triangular sunshading elements meant to resemble baseball pennants.

Elevate also owns two other Manhattan science facilities — West End Labs at 125 West End Ave. and Hudson Research Center at 619 W. 54th St. But Iron Horse, to be completed in 2025, has the advantage of being close to the East 96th Street Q train station and to medical institutions such as Mount Sinai, Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell.

“It could be leased to a single institution, but the infrastructure makes it suitable for multiple tenants as well,” Weir said. Landmark revamp

The partial residential conversion of the landmarked McGraw-Hill Building at 330 W. 42nd Street has jumped onto the fast track.

Since my colleague Lois

Weiss first reported that asset manager Resolution Real Estate was exploring the option in October 2022, “We’ve cleared all the hurdles,” said Resolution managing partner Gerard Nocera.

The conversion of floors 12 through 34, which Nocera estimated would cost $100 million, is to begin this summer. Completion of 224 apartments is expected in the second quarter of 2024.

The reconfiguration of the Art Deco masterpiece includes the creation of a second lobby and entrance, and the re-installation of the McGraw-Hill name above the residential entrance. Resolution is working with SLCE architects on the apartment designs. Shifting gears

Nobody who read my column of Jan. 16 can be surprised that Gov. Hochul has given up on the state’s proposal to fund Penn Station improvements with cash spun off from office towers to be built mostly by Vornado. She will now “shift gears” and pursue an “alternate plan” to pay for a new station.

But I noted in January that she made no mention of her pet plan for a redeveloped Penn area in her State of the State address, even though it was a priority of her administration and of her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.