555 West 23rd Street - Chelsea - Condo
March 5, 2004
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
New Chelsea Rental Complex, and Maybe More to Come
By RACHELLE GARBARINE
A two-building, 337-apartment rental complex beginning to rise on 23rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues is the third, and the largest, residential project on the block since a 1999 rezoning of a slice of West Chelsea to housing from manufacturing prompted a development spurt.
The current project will take shape by the spring of 2005 on a site at 555 West 23rd Street that extends to 24th Street. The two buildings, one 14 stories and the other 13, will overlook a central courtyard and contain studio, one- and two-bedroom market-rate apartments and a single three-bedroom penthouse. Douglaston Development of Queens is developing the $120 million complex with the owners of the site, Real Evergreen International and GTM Realty Associates.
The new development follows two others on the block, the Tate, a 313-apartment mixed-income rental complex, and the Marais, with 107 co-op apartments. Two more projects, both envisioned as 13-story condominiums, are planned. One is to have 8 apartments, the other fewer than 50.
Further development in the area could be spurred by a proposed zoning change to residential and commercial for a larger manufacturing area around West 23rd Street. The change could lead to construction of as many as 4,200 residences, including some for low- and moderate-income families, said Rachaele Raynoff, spokeswoman for the New York City Department of City Planning. The area is bounded roughly by 10th and 11th Avenues and 16th to 30th Streets.
The rezoning would allow loftlike buildings of 10 to 15 stories along the avenues and on some mid-blocks, Ms. Raynoff said. Buildings of 20 to 30 stories, including some that could contain affordable housing, would be permitted at the area's northern and southern ends. She said the rezoning would also preserve the existing art gallery district by limiting development there and would encourage the reuse of the High Line, the abandoned elevated freight rail line that runs through West Chelsea, as a greenway.
Jeffrey E. Levine, who heads Douglaston Development, said he got involved with the 555 West 23rd Street site in 2002 because of its desirable location in a neighborhood that was "a destination."
Other factors, he added, included the 1999 rezoning, which allowed the current project to be built without any special permits or variances, as well as the two initial residential projects on the block, which "set the path." The proposed rezoning, he added, would also benefit the 23rd Street buildings because it would add more housing to the area.
Initially, the project was conceived as a so-called 80-20 rental complex. Eighty percent of the apartments would have been leased at market rates, and the remaining 20 percent reserved for low- and moderate-income families in return for tax-free bond financing from the state and a 20-year tax abatement from the city.
The request for public financing prompted a review by the state's Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Catherine Jimenez, a department spokeswoman, said the agency found that two vacant Beaux Arts-style warehouses that occupied much of the development site were deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Because the warehouses, built in the early 1900's, could not easily be converted to housing and the process of getting permission to demolish them and still qualify for state tax-free bond financing could have been so lengthy, Mr. Levine said, he chose to forgo the government underwriting.
He said the project still worked economically because he secured conventional financing from the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company at an interest rate of 4 percent, and also had received a 10-year tax abatement from the city.
The apartments at 555 West 23rd Street will have 500 to 1,200 square feet of space. Nancy Packes, president of Halstead/Feathered Nest Leasing Consultant and the project's leasing adviser, said that if leased today they would rent for at least $50 a square foot or $2,708 for a typical 650-square-foot one-bedroom apartment.
The complex, designed by the Stephen B. Jacobs Group, will be clad with rusticated brick and feature large industrial-scale windows. The 23rd Street facade also will be crenelated at the upper floors and edged at the roofline by metal grillwork.
Inside, a two-story glass atrium will provide residents access to such amenities as a lounge, a physical fitness room and the landscaped courtyard that will link the buildings.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
The current project will take shape by the spring of 2005 on a site at 555 West 23rd Street that extends to 24th Street. The two buildings, one 14 stories and the other 13, will overlook a central courtyard and contain studio, one- and two-bedroom market-rate apartments and a single three-bedroom penthouse. Douglaston Development of Queens is developing the $120 million complex with the owners of the site, Real Evergreen International and GTM Realty Associates. 13 September 2003.
From Globe St.
http://www.globest.com/RMIL1CP4FRD.html
Residential Towers Are in the Works for Chelsea
By Barbara Jarvie
Last updated: Mar 8, 2004 11:13AM
NEW YORK CITY-Construction has begun on a 318,000- sf, 337-unit apartment complex on W. 23rd Street between 10th and 11th avenues in West Chelsea. Jeffrey E. Levine’s development company, Douglaston Development, is developing the $120-million project. Levine Builders will serve as general contractor.
Previously, the site was home to two vacant warehouses. Designed by architect Stephen B. Jacobs, it will feature one 13-story and one 14-story building. Studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments will contain amenities such as designer kitchens, marble bathrooms, oversized windows and in-apartment washer/dryers. A glass atrium will connect residents to more than 4,500 sf of amenity space including a lounge area and fitness room, and a landscaped courtyard. At the base there will be approximately 11,000 sf for retail use.
“Stephen tried to make it contextual, to fit in with Chelsea” explains Steven Charno, vice president of Douglaston Development. “555 West 23rd St. will expand upon a budding corridor in Chelsea running from 10th Avenue to the river.” Construction on this first Chelsea-area project for Douglaston is estimated to be completed by April 2005.
The project is being financed by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and the leasing consultant for the project is Nancy Packes of Halstead/Feathered Nest. The property manager will be Levine affiliate, Clinton Management.
In addition, the 22-story, 158-room, Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea West 25th Street between 6th and 7th avenues recently opened for business. This Starwood's first mid-priced property in the city. According to Starwood, the location was selected “because of Chelsea's great location and reputation as being an up-and-coming trendy/fashionable area and wanted to create a new urban feeling which would give guests a ‘real’ New York experience.”
I think this is an old design of the same project but I'm not sure. It has about the same units and same features.
http://www.hhpa.com/projects/project...rcial&ID=4
From http://cityrealty.com:
555 West 23rd Street nearing completion 11-JUL-05
Finishing touches are being applied to the handsome 14-story, red-brick apartment building at 555 West 23rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.
The building originally was conceived as a rental development, but recently submitted plans to become a condominium. Douglaston Development, owned by Jeffrey E. Levine and the project's architect, Stephen B. Jacobs, is the developer. Interior designer Andi Pepper collaborated on the project with Mr. Jacobs as she did at the Ganesvoort Hotel in the meat-packing district to the south.
It is the second major building on the block just to the west of the High Line elevated rail road tracks that will be converted into a park to be erected as a rental and then changed to a condominium. The other is the Marais at 520 West 23rd Street on the north side of the street. Another large and impressive rental building, the Tate, is just to the east of 555 West 23rd Street. Two other small lots on the same side of the street are also being developed as condominium projects, the Avant at 559 West 23rd Street, and the High Line 519 at 519 West 23rd Street.
These buildings are at the epicenter of Chelsea’s art gallery district and convenient to the Chelsea Piers.
555 West 23rd Street has 337 studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments, some with terraces on the upper floors. The building, which extends through to 24th Street where it has 12 floors, has a doorman, a concierge, valet services, a fitness room and a landscaped outdoor courtyard.
555 West 23rd Street in August of 2005.
So-So
I visted this place before deciding on another condo. There wasn't too much I liked about it.
*The location is not that great, the front entrance faces a U-Haul moving center (storage, return trucks), not pretty at all.
*The lobby had this HUGE license plate logo which looked kind of cheesy. However, the rest of the lobby looked nice as did the waterfall wall.
*The entrance to the gym looked like it would be nice, and the "indoor garden" was tiny, not more than 10 people at a time and even that would ruin it's ambiance.
*The 1 bedrooms I saw where small and the views where awful. There is an empty lot facing west I beleive and the developers are in litigation. When that's over with, the view will be blocked off with whatever they put in there.
*The appliances looked kinda cheap. This kitchen by far was not as modern as other developments. I believe the sales rep said that they cut corners in some areas to stay affordable.
* for having been designed by the same person who did the Hotel Gansevort, the hallways are pretty ugly. The doors are these hotel-a-la-Holiday Inn doors and the rug is that type too.
It didn't take me much to scratch it off my list. I am not sure what the appeal is. There is no service elevator, moving in seems like it will be a nightmare. I would love to hear how this all turns out in a year or two.
Thanks for the notes. It looks hideous on the outside.
Actually, it looks decent...it's quality work. The Tate also looks decent. The highline building is rising next to the Tate (right)
Update on 555 w 23rd St
I went and visited the building very recently when looking for places to buy. The construction is near complete and it looks pretty decent. The public spaces (minus the entrance lobby with the large license plate sign, which I was told is being removed post-construction) are very modern and attractive.
The kitchen appliances were as good or nicer than any comprable new construction I saw on the west side. I found some updated pics of the kitchens/baths on their website which were not available a couple months ago. (www.555w23.com) You can find them by going to the kitchen/bath linkn and then clicking on kitchen or bath on the top of the page and then clicking the "reality" link next to it.
As far as new constuction in West Chelsea goes, this was the best place I found.
Interesting. So you don't mind that the building looks bland or even ugly from the outside? I myself, wouldn't buy something that looks like it could double as a public school, even if the inside looks good.Originally Posted by Roger37
It depends what you are looking for. The photos above do it little justice when you consider the area it is built in. An all glass, ultra-modern or highly ornate facade would be totally out of characture for the neighborhood. The building seems to fit quite well with the avant-gaurde feel of the neighborhood. Warehouse on the outside, creative within...
Glass is just a material. It's what you do with the material that matters most. A cheap lousy Kmart dress and a fabulous designer gown designed by, say, Donna Karan can both be made of the same material.
That idea of "fitting in with the character of neighborhood" is just another poor excuse for wanting to be mediocre and conservatism.
Some of the most brilliant creations and ideas have come from daring people unafraid of being different and going against the grain, when going along with the grain would've been so much easier.
Now, am I calling for something crazy or radical? No, not necessarily, but all this wanting to fit in thing just makes me feel depressed about the current mentality of our city.
It is not as if this is some Soviet-era concrete cutout. Red brick and glass were used in the latter stages of the industrial revolution and seen as the pinnacle of modern design. Given the history of the nieghborhood, the design seems to be highly relevant and in good taste.
I'm not claiming that this is some sort of architectural godsend. Think of it as the approach of the Tate Modern vs. the Pompidou. Apparently you prefer the latter, but they both have their artistic value.
These look fine for the area. Actually the red brick building on the left, in the photo above, looks handsome... the set-backs, the cornices they´ve added, the hidden air conditioner units, the touch of brick detailing. Not super, but perfectly nice.
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