The lower Manhattan building that once housed the controversial “Ground Zero Mosque” will soon be reduced to rubble.
An application was filed with the city Buildings Department on Monday to demolish the site at 51 Park Place in Tribeca, which had been home to Park51, an Islamic cultural and prayer center, city records show.
The application by the building’s owner, Soho Properties, also requested approval to tear down a nearby building, at 45 Park Place, according to records.
Park51 opened in September 2011 amid a storm of controversy from critics who objected to a Muslim institution being located roughly two blocks north of Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center was destroyed by Muslim radicals on Sept. 11, 2001.
But Park51’s long-term prospects have recently been in flux as Soho Properties purchased another nearby property, at 43 Park Place, and rumors swirled about a potential redevelopment plan.
Sharif El-Gamal, CEO of Soho Properties, could not be reached for comment on Monday, and his plans for the Park51 site were not known .
“Plans for the site will be announced at a later date,” Gamal’s spokesman, Hank Sheinkopf, told the Commercial Observer, which first reported the story.
