Rendering of Nouvel's tower, via The Architect's Newspaper

New York’s Museum of Modern Art is enriching its neighbor, the starchy University Club, to the tune of $14.5 million for 136,000 square feet in air rights, as part of a development deal to build a new glassy Jean Nouvel condo and hotel on West 53rd Street. This equals a $20 admission charge from 725,000 museum visitors.

MoMA paid out $11 million in December, 2009, according to a Jan. 15 letter sent to University Club members from the club’s president, George E. Pine. The remaining $3.625 million is earmarked for the club’s capital projects, required by NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Funds will be used to repair roofs, replace windows and restore the interior marble steps, among other projects.

University Club

The palazzo-like University Club is located on West 54th Street, one block north of MoMA. The 1899 building, designed by McKim Mead and White, is landmarked.

The 75-story tower is being developed by the Houston-based Hines, who purchased an empty lot from MoMA for $125 million. The project has met with opposition from area residents and others over the proposed height. (Culture Grrl blogger Lee Rosenbaum has followed the story. Link here.)

The lofty design also requires 275,000 square feet in air rights from the  ne0-Gothic Saint Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue.