Aerial view of Trinity Wall Street's 26-story Parish Center and office tower planned for 74 Trinity Pl., directly behind the church and connected to it by a footbridge. Photo: Trinity Wall Street
Following a remarkably public 16-month planning process, Trinity Wall Street revealed a final design for its nine-story Parish Center at 74 Trinity Place and the office tower that will rise above it. The 26-story, glass-and-bronze structure, directly behind Trinity Church, replaces Trinity’s now-razed 1920s parish building and, like the previous building, will be connected by a footbridge over Trinity Place.
A virtual tour above and through 74 Trinity Place, narrated by Fred Clarke of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the project's designers. Video by Trinity Wall Street, captions by The Tribeca Trib
The 150,000-square-foot Parish Center, anticipated to open in the fall of 2019, will house spaces for performances and socializing, a gym, school, gallery, staff offices and more. “An extraordinary collection of uses and space,” said Fred Clarke, principal of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the firm that designed the building.
Parishioners and others from Lower Manhattan came together for five “charettes” beginning in February 2015, where the public expressed their ideas for the new center. At the final meeting at St. Paul’s Chapel on Oct. 22, the design was shown for the first time. Calls for multipurpose, indoor recreation and exhibit spaces were among the ideas that found their way into the final design.
“We wanted to build a building that reflected the needs and the hopes and the dreams of the community,” said Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, rector of Trinity Wall Street.
In addition to soliciting opinions during the charettes, Trinity interviewed key stakeholders and surveyed Lower Manhattan households and congregants. “It’s been a real joy to do that,” Lupfer said.