New York Blood Center redevelopment into a new a new high-rise Center East Facility at its its existing three-story HQ at 320 E. 67th Street is in the offing. The Blood Center recently received approval from the New York City Council to move forward on its vertical expansion, which was reduced from the initial proposed height of 334 feet to 233 feet, in order to minimize casting shadows on neighboring properties.
Despite criticisms from some local residents and others, which were partly due to the shadows that this new high-rise tower will cast over a nearby park and school; the new Center East Facility has received the full support of the Mayor, Bill de Blasio and backing from the council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, which comprises 23 out of the city’s 51 council members. The project still needs to receive the final approval from Mayor, Blasio, but the developers hope to begin construction in 2022 and round up all construction in 2025.
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The New York Blood Center will work with Longfellow Real Estate Partners to initiate the demolition of its existing three-story building, which will be replaced with a new 13 story Center East facility. The Blood center will occupy the lower floors of the tower, which is about one-third of the entire building; the spaces allocated to the Blood Center will feature a blood donation center on the ground, a lab space dedicated to research on sickle cell, a multi-purpose community room, and a café. While the remaining upper floors will be rented out by Longfellow to other life science companies and research institutions.
The Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff for the New York Blood Center, Rob Purvis, said the company was grateful to the council and city leaders for approving the project. Purvis also said that the Center East Facility would position New York as a global public health hub, which would offer the state many benefits such as creating jobs, stimulating billions in economic output annually, and also open career opportunities for local students and young professionals.
Mayor de Blasio spoke highly of the Blood Center’s project and pointed out that the aim of this Center East Facility is to ensure that there is enough stable blood supply available for the city. He also added, “It’s a really important organization for the city, and we saw during COVID times when the blood supply got really low.”
