The City Planning Commission held a public hearing Wednesday to discuss an application to turn a portion of the old St. Vincent's Hospital into condos, and while some residents said they support the plan, others argued the neighborhood desperately needs a new hospital. NY1’s Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

There wasn't an empty seat at the City Planning Commission hearing Wednesday. People on all sides of the issue turned out to hear developer Bill Rudin present his company's latest plan for the former St. Vincent's Hospital site.

“We’re preserving five of the historic buildings on the campus and will deliver a project that is 17 percent less bulky than they currently exist. As you know, our design was approved by LPC in June of 2009,” said Rudin.

Rudin is hoping to get the green light to gut and renovate five buildings and add two more on the old hospital grounds, all for residential use, along with a complex of five townhouses and a public park across the street. He said the project will create 1,500 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs.

Some residents were supportive.

"The development will bring buyers to the area now blighted because of the loss of St. Vincent's Hospital so that small businesses will again have shoppers in the area from the 450 condominiums," said resident Gil Horowitz.

But the plan has its detractors who oppose it for other reasons.

"Because of the scale of the proposed project, the precedent which could be set by the proposed zoning changes, and the change in use for the site which the project would entail, this application would have a profound and lasting impact upon this neighborhood and beyond," said preservationist Andrew Berman.

The hearing was about zoning, but when it comes to St. Vincent's, it's impossible for some residents to ignore the elephant in the room.

"We need a hospital to live," said one resident.

“It’s hard living in the West Side right now without a hospital,” said another.

Even Rudin couldn't help but address that, reminding the audience of a project already in progress to build a free-standing emergency department as opposed to a full scale hospital in the old O'Toole building.

That and all of the plan's projects are scheduled to open in 2014.

The Rudin plan does still need approval from the planning commission. It will be put to vote on January 23, and if it is approved, it will go before the City Council.