- William Beaver House condo - 15 William Street
- Chelsea Stratus - 101 West 24th Street
- Gramercy Starck - 340 East 23rd Street
- Sheffield 57 - 322 West 57th Street
- The Visionaire - Battery Park City
- Platinum - 247 West 46th Street
Above is just a partial list of some of the larger new condominium projects being built or converted in Manhattan. Combined the above represents well over a thousand new apartments set to hit the market. A lot of people write in to ask why we don't write about this or that new condo. The truth is few if any of them are at all ambitious in terms of architecture and design. Still, there is an overall collective effect on the cityscape that is worth noting. After the jump a bit more on some of these projects for the sake of recording this frenzied moment in New York's development history. We may update this list now and then so it will be suitable for a time capsule. As Gore Vidal once wrote of a different city "one day these may make great ruins."
William Beaver House condo - 15 William Street
Will the financial district ever reach critical mass as a 24-hour residential neighborhood? Or is it doomed to be a gilded post-collegiate pit-stop for affluent 20-somethings? Give Andre Balazs credit for hiring Tsao & McKown, a talented firm with a good track record of understanding Manhattan apartment life (see River House lofts in Tribeca) to do the interiors. Here at William Beaver House we have a design for a corner parcel that shoehorns 319 apartments into a 47-story tower. Units are small, and the trend toward building a city for global nomads with no kids (and who never so much as turn on the oven) continues apace. Is it a home or an extended stay hotel for your single years? Two months ago it was a parking lot. 10 years from now, without children and families, it could turn out to be just as soul-less.
Chelsea Stratus - 101 West 24th Street
In the mid-90's the city rezoned much of the Sixth Avenue corridor from 23rd Street north toward Herald Square for residential use. In the time that's passed a half dozen or so large rentals have sprung up here, displacing the flea markets, and bringing to the area young couples, earilly empty drug stores, and brightly lit bank branches. Way to go city planners. The real opportunity here are the blocks just to the east of Sixth, where knockoff merchants have turned the area into an overcrowded, traffic-congested and, frankly, out-of-control sportswear and costume jewelry wholesale market. There is no reason why this has to be in Manhattan--and a lot of these buildings would make great loft homes. When will the city ever move these businesses? Is the issue even on their radar? It ought to be--this is a great central location for housing--but it would require relocating this wholesale district. But enough about that. Back on Sixth, Chelsea Stratus on 24th Street is a new condo tower now rising that will have 204 apartments--most with open city views. The idea seems to be for renters in other area hi-rises to consider graduating up to this condo. The 40 story tower, by SLCE architects, will be the tallest along this stretch of the avenue, Apart from that, it looks basically like all the others.
Gramercy Starck - 340 East 23rd Street
Do developers still regard Philippe Starck as daring? I'm not sure news could get any older. But I guess Philippe is still an easy sell for people who don't know much about design, and can't tell you the difference between a W hotel and The Mercer. For a mid-block building designed by Gerner Kronick + Valcarel, Starck has been brought on to do interiors and lend his name to the marketing materials. 207 condos behind a mostly glass facade will join the residents of East 23rd Street. So is this Gramercy or Murray Hill? It's a debate that could break out into fisticuffs at a nearby sports bar at any moment.
Sheffield 57 - 322 West 57th Street
This conversion of a massive rental tower in midtown has been noted for the tensions between the owners and some long-term tenants. At 50 stories with more than 800 units, the building itself is a huge dark brown postwar brick slab, representing some of the worst thinking of its era. Call it the brown Death Star of 57th Street, it rubs right up against Sir Norman Foster's glorious new Hearst Tower. The owners are upgrading like mad--building new common areas and amenities, combining units to make larger apartments. It's an example of the rush to convert and update now aging housing stock in places where starting from scratch is impractical. But is this perhaps more units than the market can bear? Who knows.
The Visionaire - Battery Park City
The now quite crowded Battery Park City is almost complete. No more parcels to build on. And the management of the public authority in charge is now desperate to annex additional blocks of lower Manhattan so they can stay in business and not have to go out into the private sector and look for honest work. Let's hope they don't get away with that crazy scheme. Here is one of the last condo towers to rise at the development. This 33 story tower at 70 Little West Street at the southern end of Battery Park City was designed by SLCE and Pelli Clarke Pelli. 251 apartments will have lots of environmentally conscious and energy efficient details, such as "harvested rainwater" and a pesticide free roof garden. Sure all these new buildings at BPC are "green certified" but Sunday evening, when all the SUVs double park outside the lobbies while moms and dads unload from the weekend, has become its own environmental disaster.
Platinum - 247 West 46th Street
Times Square as a residential location? If you define an area broadly to include Hell's Kitchen and then just call all of it "midtown west", the answer is yes. The Orion, The Link, and The Atelier condos have all proved that there is interest in these locations, particularly if you work in midtown. The Paltinum at 247 West 46th Street occupies the former site of McHale’s, a much loved Theater District hangout, and is one of the first developments to take advantage of a controversial theater district zoning bonus using air rights from a nearby theater. 187 units will fill the 39 story condo designed by Costas Kondylis--another glassy tower on a base. As one of the wags at Wired New York commented, lamenting the loss of McHale's, "god knows we don't need another bank branch or pharmacy there." It's unclear what, if anything, the city got in return for the bonus. Memo to city planners: stop giving away the city for free in a hot market...
If you simply must follow every new project that crosses the transom, we strongly recommend checking in on both Curbed's regular Development Du Jour feature and Wired New York's wonderfully obsessive message boards.
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