The Chelsea Mercantile, 252 Seventh Avenue: Review and Ratings

Review of 252 Seventh Avenue by Carter Horsley

With 354 condominium apartments, The Chelsea Mercantile at 252 Seventh Avenue is one of the largest residential conversions of a commercial property in Chelsea.

The conversion in 2000 of the handsome, 21-story, 1906 building was designed by the firm of Avinash K. Malhotra and Gruzen Samton, one of the city's leading architectural firms, for Rockrose Development, one of the city's leading residential builders and converts.

Bottom Line

This handsome and substantial former commercial building in the heart of Chelsea was converted by Rockrose Development in 2000 to 354 condominium apartments with a rotunda lobby, a roof deck, a garage and many amenities.

Description

This handsome building has a new, large rotunda lobby and a broad alley between different sections of the property features lovely landscaping.

The building has no balconies and no sidewalk landscaping.

Amenities

The building has a sundeck and its retail space is occupied by a Whole Foods supermarket.

The building has a concierge and a full-time doorman, a garage, maid service, basement storage, a garden, a children’s playroom, valet service for cleaning, and a health club.

Apartments

Many of the apartments have exposed brick walls with 9-foot ceilings, beamed ceilings and walk-in closets and some of the penthouses have ceilings of 11 to 13 feet, fireplaces, skylights and terraces.

The apartments have state-of-the-art wiring and stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen with built-in garbage disposals.

The master bathrooms have limestone walls and floors and most apartments have washer and dryer hook-ups.

Apartment 10R has an 11-foot-long foyer that leads to a 38-foot-long living/dining room with an angled window wall and an open kitchen with an island.  It has a 24-foot-long master bedroom and a 20-foot-long home office.

Apartment 12R is a two-bedroom unit with a 25-foot-long foyer that leads to a 33-foot-long living/dining room with an open 18-foot-wide kitchen with an island.  The apartment also has a 12-foot-long office and an 11-foot-long laundry.

Apartment 12D is a three-bedroom unit with a 36-foot-long gallery that leads to a 35-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen with an island.

Apartment 12Y is a three-bedroom unit that has a 12-foot-long vestibule that leads to a 19-foot-long gallery that leads to a 12-foot-wide library, 19-foot-wide north drawing room and a 16-foot-long corner south drawing room adjacent to a 19-foot-wide dining room that leads to a 22-foot-long family room adjacent to a 22-foot-long breakfast room off the 22-foot-long kitchen. 

Penthouse T is a large three-bedroom unit that has an entrance foyer that leads to a 25-foot-wide kitchen that opens onto a 43-foot-long dining area/living room.

History

The original buildings, four in total, that made up the Mercantile structure originally housed a clothing mail order house for women and men called The National Cloak and Suit Company.

It later became the Veterans’ Administration Building.

Location

A couple of blocks south of the Fashion Institute of Technology to the north and not far from the famous Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street, this building is in the heart of Chelsea, a district that exploded in popularity at the end of the 1990s as many art galleries moved into the area from SoHo and other downtown locations and as the Chelsea Piers recreation project opened on the Hudson River.

There is very good public transportation in the area and it is very convenient to the very trendy Flatiron District to the east and Greenwich Village to the south.

As the new millennium began, several new projects were initiated to transform the nearby stretch of the former flower market in the mid-20's along the Avenue of the Americas with new luxury apartment buildings that have further reinforced the neighborhood's strong renaissance.

The main "drag" of Chelsea is also nearby on Eighth Avenue where the wonderful Joyce Theater at 19th Street offers excellent dance performances and there are many restaurants in the vicinity.