Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Here's What The New Luxury Condo At "Ground Zero Mosque" Site Will Look Like
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 30, 2015
Modified Sep 30, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
left
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 30, 2015
Modified Sep 30, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
This weekend, we learned that the developer of the "Ground Zero Mosque" site, the long-in-the-works Muslim community center and prayer space that would have been located blocks from the World Trade Center, had bowed under public pressure and instead will turn the site into a luxury condo.. Above on the left, you can see the first rendering of the new site; on the right, you can see the old rendering for what would have been the mosque.
According to a press release, the new condo tower at 45 Park Place will be designed by SOMA Architects under the direction of designer Michael Abboud. It will "soar 665 feet high to take its place in the skyscape of Lower Manhattan." Instead of a 15-story community center, as it was once slated to be, it will now include "at least 15 full-floor units of 3,200 to 3,700 square feet (297 to 344 square meters), and average prices higher than $3,000 a square foot." As the press release puts it:
Located at the crossroads of Tribeca and the vibrant new Downtown, the condominium offers panoramic views from all tower exposures. Construction of 45 Park Place will begin this year, with delivery for occupancy in 2017.
Developer Sharif El-Gamal has acquired three plots on Park Place adjacent to the initial site, and still plans to install a smaller three-story museum adjacent to the tower, to be designed by architect Jean Nouvel (he designed this luxury condo building). It will be connected to the skyscraper via a public plaza.
Regardless of whether the prospect of a new "market-maker" luxury tower in Tribeca gets your nipples hard, you can rest assured that the failure of the "Ground Zero Mosque" is a hard-earned victory for Real America. Vehement Islamaphobic hatemonger Pamela Geller was, obviously, delighted by the news, crowing: "The Ground Zero Mosque project was a middle finger to the American people...The infamous Ground Zero Mosque project is officially dead. We won. We the People," she wrote in a piece on Brietbart. "Despite all this opposition and much more, the people stood up and fought against the Ground Zero Mosque, and won. An army of Davids."
Tagged
condos
ground zero mosque
manhattan
park 51
sharif el-gamal
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
A sixth person dies after falling ill in NYPD custody this year
The 54-year-old was hospitalized twice after his arrest Friday, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 4, 2026 at 4:44 p.m. ET
NJ reports first West Nile Virus death of the year
While the national West Nile Virus trend has slowed down, activity in the Garden State has picked up.
By
Michael Sol Warren
News
NJ reports first West Nile Virus death of the year
While the national West Nile Virus trend has slowed down, activity in the Garden State has picked up.
By
Michael Sol Warren
NY's prison system is in crisis. It's driving staff away from the job.
By
Emily Russell
NYPD searching for suspect after fatal stabbing in Queens
By
Ben Feuerherd
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
By
Jill Webb
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .