We've been watching this project ever since our friends at Curbed scored the original scoop about this extremely tall and narrow apartment tower in the Manhattan neighborhood that developers are now calling "Madison Square North." Sky House, a 139 unit condominium at 11 East 29th Street, is a Clarett Group project designed by the firm of Fxfowle. The slender 55 story tower will have just three apartments per floor. Its height-to-width ratio reminds us of the Metropolitan apartment tower on West 57th Street. Reflecting a new turn toward smaller, more saleable units (as the New York condo market cools a bit), the mix here will be mostly one and two bedroom apartments. More on the design and the neighborhood after the jump.
(Rendering by Hypertecture.)
(Renderings above by Hypertecture.)
Most of these apartments will either have dramatic city views or overlook the adjacent "Little Church Around The Corner" and its charming oasis-like garden. The first few floors will house a new parish house. Above will rise 139 apartments using the air rights purchased from the church. Fxfowle has used a dark red brick to compliment the old structure, and while we usually don't care for brick used at this scale (its detail becomes pointless after a certain height), this seems to bring a necessary warmth to the design--mostly because they got the color right. Above is a rendering of the condo's lobby.
A word on this part of town. We have always called it the Persian Rug district, but that may be just us. It's a short walk to the Flatiron District or Chelsea, and just a five minute cab ride to Union Square. It is served by both the Lexington Avenue subway and the R train. As a residential location this certainly beats the desolate canyons of Wall Street that developers have been breathlessly hyping of late. Across the street from Sky House Geoffrey Zakarian just opened his new restaurant Country which has drawn a crowd, and there are at least five nearby loft condo conversions in various states of progress. Over time we think Madison Avenue will be a much better bet than Pine Street.
The image above shows how the new structure fits into the church property.
