Land Rich / Cash Poor: Marrying Institutional Mission with Development

Neighbourhood Builders: Jed Walentas of Two Trees and Joshua Ramos of REX

Date: April 15, 2025

Time: 6:00 to 8:30 pm. Reception following.

Location: Cornell AAP, Gensler Family Center,26 Broadway 20th floor, Lower Manhattan

FXCollaborative has designed a number of “hybrid buildings”: towers that have significant educational, cultural, or religious uses as well as residential and office development. Born out of the pressurized context of New York, these projects are initiated by nonprofit institutions to leverage their properties’ value and advance their core missions by partnering with for-profit developers. The lecture will explore the complex city-building issues inherent in these projects including institutional mission, financial/governance structure, architectural identity, building organization and systems, etc. Case studies include: Xavier High School + 35 West 15th Street (35XV); PS150 + 77 Greenwich (around the corner from 26 Broadway); Calvary Baptist Church + 125 West 57th Street; La Hermosa Church / Music School + 5 West 110th Street. Discussion will include the larger design, urban, and policy implications of these developments.

Dan Kaplan, FAIA (Cornell B.Arch. ’84), is a senior partner at FXCollaborative, where he serves in a design and leadership capacity for many of the firm's significant buildings and urban plans. He is widely recognized for integrating design excellence, sustainable innovation, and an urban point-of-view into largescale projects.

Miriam Harris is the SVP of Transit Oriented Development at the MTA: formerly with Trinity Place Holdings and Priya Development, clients of FXCollaborative's project at 77 Greenwich and the Frank Gehry tower at 8 Spruce.

Host or Publisher Cornell University, Gensler Family AAP NYC Center