The Urban League Empowerment Center, a new development located at 121 West 125th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, is nearing completion. The 17-story mixed-use building will house The National Urban League, a renowned civil rights organization, along with 170 residential units, 70,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 110,000 square feet of retail area. The ground floor will feature notable retailers such as Target and Trader Joe’s.
121 West 125th Street is part of a $242 million development project that encompasses a 21,500-square-foot plot on Harlem’s main corridor between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Lenox Avenue.
The building’s six-story podium will have floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a punched-in balcony outlined in darker glass, and ground-floor retail frontage on West 125th Street. On West 126th Street, the podium will have a tiered massing with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and light-hued concrete accents.
The 11-story tower on top, which will most likely house the residential units, will be clad in light-colored masonry and culminate in a flat roof parapet topped with mechanicals. Groundbreaking is expected to occur in the next few weeks, with an estimated completion date set for late 2023.
The nearest subways are the 2 and 3 trains at the 125th Street station at the corner of West 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, and the A, C, B, and D trains are also nearby to the west along St. Nicholas Avenue.
Renderings of 121 West 125th Street
The building, which is being developed by The Prusik Group, BRP Companies, L+M Development Partners, and Taconic Partners and designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, will feature The Urban Civil Rights Museum Experience, the city’s first civil rights museum. The headquarters of the United Negro College Fund, One Hundred Black Men of New York, and the Harlem Jazzmobile will also be located in the building.
Local community groups will have access to below-market-rate office space, and the 170 affordable housing units will be supported through the state’s Homes and Community Renewal program. The National Urban League is relocating from its previous Financial District location to make way for this new development.
