Children's Museum Selects Architect For New UWS Facility

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Children's Museum of Manhattan is one step closer to turning its plans for a new Upper West Side facility into reality.

The museum announced Monday that it has contracted the firm FXCollaborative to lead the architectural design and planning process to repurpose a historic church building on Central Park West and West 96th Street into a new museum.

"We were impressed with FXCollaborative’s initial thinking about the marriage of our program with a distinctive landmark building," Andy Ackerman, the museum's executive director, said in a statement. "In addition to providing us with more space, 361 Central Park West will serve as an extraordinary teaching tool to introduce children to the art of architecture."

Denham Wolf’s Project Management Services group supported the museum during its selection process, according to a press release.

The Children's Museum of Manhattan purchased 361 Central Park West for $45 million, public real estate records show. The museum is expecting to double its programming space and its annual visitors when the historic church building is converted, according to a press release.

The new museum building will also feature dedicated performance areas, galleries and studio workspaces as well as amenities for visiting families such as quiet spaces for nursing, stroller storage and a cafe, according to a press release.

The church building had previously housed the congregations of the First Church of Christ, Scientist and the Crenshaw Christian Center East. The Crenshaw Christian Center East purchased the building in 2004 for an unknown sum and sold it to an entity named 361 Central Park West LLC in 2014 for $26 million, according to city real estate records.

Construction on the new museum facility is expected to be completed in 2021, according to a press release. Until then, the Children's Museum of Manhattan will continue to operate at its current location on West 83rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

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