Avant, 245 West 19th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 245 West 19th Street by Carter Horsley

This attractive, 12-story residential condominium building at 245 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea, has only 19 apartments and was completed in 2007.

It is called Avant.

The developer was the Ginsburg Development Group of Valhalla, New York and the architect was 1100 Architect, which is headed by David Piscuskas and Juergen Riehm. The architects have offices here and in Frankfurt and designed the new building for the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School building in Greenwich Village in 1999 and 2002.

The building has 14 two-bedroom units ranging in size from 1,070 to 1,197 square feet, four penthouses ranging in size from 1,516 to 1, 854 square feet and a duplex garden apartment with 1,256 square feet.

The building has a fitness center, a bicycle room and private storage space. Kitchens will have Bulthaup cabinetry, Sub-zero refrigerators and Bosch dishwashers. Windows will be floor-to-ceiling and ceiling heights are 9 feet.

Ginsburg acquired the property for $13.5 million from West 19th Street Development LLC. The site, which was formerly occupied by a four-story commercial structure and a three-story residential structure, was delivered vacant to the buyer.

Ginsburg Development Companies was founded in 1964 and has developed more than 4,000 homes, apartments, office buildings and commercial shopping centers and it also owns and manages 3,500 apartments in four states. Martin Ginsburg is the president and chief executive officer.

The apartments have floor-to-ceiling windows and bamboo flooring and the building has a garden with a grill and a water wall, a fitness center, private storage rooms for each apartment, bicycle storage, an attended lobby and a full-time super.

A two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with 1,062 square feet on the second floor was priced initially at about $1,300,000 while a similar apartment on the 7th floor with an 83-square-foot balcony was priced at $1,450,000. A penthouse with two-and-a-half baths and 1,620 square feet of space plus 553 square feet of terraces was priced at $2,900,000.

The building has two keyed elevators and Bulthaup kitchens with SubZero and Bosch appliances. Baths have Robern cabinets with integrated lighting, Zuma soaking tubs and rain showers, and Duravit Starck 3 wall-mounted toilet with in-wall watertank.