This two-building rental apartment complex in Chelsea was erected in 2001 by Rockrose Development, one of the city s major residential developers.

It consists of a 17-story building with 231 apartments at 200 West 26th Street and an 11-story building with 125 units at 220 West 26th Street.

Known as Chelsea Centro, the complex was the first to be financed under a city taxable bond program that gave developers quicker but more expensive financing in return for making units available to people with incomes that are too high to quality for traditional city housing programs even though their incomes are moderate.

Eighty percent of the units were rented at market rates and the remainder set aside for low- and moderate-income households that earn up to 80 percent of the median income in the New York City area.

An August 3, 2001 article about the building in The New York Times by Sana Siwolop noted that “The usual cap on income to qualify for such apartments under what are called 80/20 programs is half of the area’s median income.” “Kevin P. Singleton, a senior vice president at the Rockrose Development Corporation, said that his company was prompted to build Chelsea Centro because of the success of its nearby Chelsea Mercantile luxury condominium at Seventh Avenue and 24th Street,” the article stated, adding that “To develop Chelsea Centro, Rockrose bought a parking lot in June 1999 that bordered both West 25th and West 26th Streets and that used to house flea markets.”

The city-backed bonds provided Chelsea Centro with more than $74 million in financing, according to the article and Mr. Singleton said that they also helped his company bring the development to market about a year sooner than it might have otherwise.

For market-rate apartments at Chelsea Centro, Rockrose initially asked $2,125 monthly for a 408-square-foot studio to $5,045 for a 1,164-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment. For the apartments reserved for tenants with moderate incomes, the apartments had monthly rentals initially of $747 for a studio to $961 for a two-bedroom unit.

The building wsa designed by Costas Kondylis and has a fitness center, a garage, two laundry facilities, available valet services, a 24-hour doorman and two sundecks.