Plans to restore an historic mansion and turn a church into condos are on the agenda for a community board meting Thursday that is likely to draw a very big crowd.

If you like Upper West Side history, Thursday’s meeting is bound to be interesting — and possibly controversial. The meeting starts at 6:30 at 250 West 87th street, the community board’s offices. The full agenda is at the bottom of this post.

Here are two of the projects being considered:

The Schinasi mansion at 107th and Riverside, pictured above, was sold last year to a Goldman Sachs executive for $14 milion, and he’s now proposing a renovation and restoration. It will be fascinating to see how the new owners plan to remake this breathtaking 12,000-square-foot building. It was built in 1909 and is reportedly Manhattan’s last freestanding mansion. We wrote about it and posted the floor plans here.

The Crenshaw Church (formerly First Church of Christ, Scientist) on 96th and Central Park West is also on the agenda, and discussion of that building is expected to start around 8. It’s going to be quite a job to turn this church into condos — looking at the photo below, it’s hard to imagine where the windows will go, for instance — and the interior and exterior changes may end up being very controversial (not to mention the asbestos removal work and union protests).

These projects will also go before the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has a more powerful vote in the process than the community board. So if you care about these developments, it’s worth going to those hearings and voicing your opinion.

Preservation Committee, Jay Adolf and Gabrielle Palitz, Co-Chairpersons
Thursday, November 13, 6:30 PM
1.    53 West 71st Street (Columbus Avenue – Central Park West.) Application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for window replacement.
2.    159-161 West 85th Street (Amsterdam Avenue.) Application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for reconstruction of the front entry and areaway, adding a canopy over the entry, replacing windows and doors, and construction of a two-story addition on the rear yard extension.
3.    302 West 86th Street, Apt #4A (West End Avenue.) Application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for installation of an AC through wall unit.
4.    351 Riverside Drive, Schinasi Residence ( West 107th Street) Application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for changes in fenestration and doors, modification of the east terrace, modifications of the north stair bay and marble steps, creation of a mechanical pit at the north yard, creation of a copper dormer at the parapet on the north elevation and extensive exterior restoration work.
8:00 PM
5.    361 Central Park West (West 96th – 97th Street.) Application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for adaptive re-use of the building for residential purposes, including exterior restoration, replacement of windows, and a rooftop addition.

Directed by the City Charter mandate that Community Boards review matters prior to consideration by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Preservation Committee reviews the “appropriateness” of proposed changes to individually designated landmarks as well as to properties listed within the Upper West Side’s Historic Districts.