TEN23, 500 West 23rd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 500 West 23rd Street by Carter Horsley

This 13-story rental apartment building at 500 West 23rd Street on the southwest corner of Tenth Avenue has 111 apartments and overlooks the High Line Park.

There is elevator access to the park on the sidewalk in front of this building.

The building, which was designed by Gerner, Kronick & Valcarcell, has large, inset windows and a light-gray façade. The developer was Equity Residential Realty, which is headed by Sam Zell.

The building, which is known as "Ten23," is also known as 209-219 Tenth Avenue.

Bottom Line

Because two of the corners at this intersection are low-rise buildings and because it is adjacent to the High Line Park, there are many fine vistas from this building. Ten23 also boasts an excellent Chelsea location that abounds in restaurants and art galleries.

Description

The building, which has a setback at the 9th floor, has a landscaped roof deck and an entrance marquee.

The building is notable for the subtle patterning of its cast-concrete piers, some of which are partially curved to provide depth for some "inset" windows and give the façades considerably more visual interest.

This building, which is across 23rd Street from the very handsome Smith and Thompson-designed art gallery building at 501 West 23rd Street, is diagonally across Tenth Avenue from London Terrace, the huge and very handsome full-block apartment complex that is a major landmark in the area. It is also a block north on the avenue from the very handsome full-block complex of the General Theological Seminary.

It is also diagonally across the elevated High Line Park on 23rd Street from two of Chelsea's unusual new buildings, High Line 519 and HL23. The former is a small, mid-block condominium apartment building designed by Lindy Roy that is notable for its balconies with cloud-like scrims. The latter, which is cantilevered partially over the High Line, is a glass-and-stainless-steel condominium apartment building with a dramatically rippled and angled façade designed by Neil Denari.

Amenities

The building has a 24-hour concierge, a fitness center, a package service, storage facilities, a valet dry cleaning service, an outdoor barbecue grill/picnic area and key-controlled access. It allows dogs and cats.

Apartments

Apartments have 9-foot-ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, washers and dryers, and individual heat/AC controls.

Kitchens have dishwashers and frost-free refrigerators and breakfast rooms or breakfast bars.

There are some balconies and terraces and many corner windows.

History

Equity Residential, the biggest residential landlord in the country, purchased the site in January, 2010.

Weeks after acquiring 500 West 23rd, Equity brought two properties and agreed to buy a third from Harry Macklowe.

The two closed acquisitions included the 38-story River Tower at 420 East 54th Street and 777 Sixth Avenue, a 294-unit tower at the corner of 27th Street. As part of the third acquisition, Equity agreed to buy the 293-unit Longacre House at 305 West 50th Street in Manhattan.