Built in the 1920s, 2056 Fifth Ave. was originally home to the Finnish Community Center and was most recently housing the Gospel Temple Church. Initial construction activity is expected to begin soon with the conversion scheduled to be completed in nine to 12 months, according to Oskar Brecher, president of AFC Development Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of locally based investment banking firm AFC Realty Capital.

There will also be 1,800 sf of first-floor retail space and the site is within blocks of several redevelopment initiatives planned for the Harlem area. New projects currently under way or planned include a Marriott Hotel at 125th and Park Avenue which will also feature office and retail space, East River Plaza, a 475,000-sf retail facility and La Marqueta, a fresh fish and produce market to be developed along Park Avenue.

Brecher points out that escalating home prices in Midtown and Downtown have forced homebuyers to search points north and west to find more reasonably-priced housing opportunities. "And many are finding Harlem the perfect choice," he says. "This growing trend has enabled the area to undergo an exciting transition as more and more residential developers recognize Harlem as a financially compelling proposition." AFC Realty Capital was also responsible for arranging debt and equity financing which provided the required capital to complete the renovation.