Avalon Bowery Place is a very attractive, 9-story rental apartment building that is also known as 1-9 First Street and 285-303 Bowery.

It was completed in 2009 and designed by Arquitectonica and Schuman Lichtenstein Claman and Efron.

It has 209 apartments, a landscaped sundeck, a garage, a fitness center, a screening room, a landscaped courtyard, a resident lounge with billiard room and is pet friendly.

The same architects also designed the 7-story, 96-unit Avalon Bowery Place II.

They are both close to another large project by the same developer, Avalon Christie's Place. a 14-story apartment building with 361 apartments designed by the same developer.

Avalon Bowery Place has a silvery motif whereas Avalon Christie Place has a red-brick motif. The latter is also notable for its inclusion of a Whole Foods Store.

This building is part of a major redevelopment of the Bowery that began to occur at the start of the Millennium and includes several notable projects include a major new academic building for Cooper Union design by Morphosis, the tall and very handsome 21-story Cooper Square Hotel design by Carlos Zapata Studio with its delightful 2nd story garden and bar, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art Designed by SANAA opened at the corner of Prince Street.

A February 6, 2008 article by Janet Huege in therealdeal.com noted that plans called for a "trash-strewn alley on the Lower East Side to be reborn as pedestrian mall."

"New Yorkers all want a little something extra, especially when it comes to space. And with developments popping up in areas that would have seemed unheard of a few years ago (such as luxury hotels in Harlem and high-end rentals near the Holland Tunnel), those in real estate are looking for any extra space they can find. Down in the Bowery, developers are creating an entire street out of what was, until recently, a garbage-strewn, padlocked alley," the article noted.

"The appropriately named Extra Place is located north off East First Street, parallel to and nestled between Bowery and Second Avenue. The city-owned cul-de-sac has caught the attention of a handful of developers, real estate brokers, landlords, architects, foodies and fashionistas, all of whom are working together to create 'a slice of the Left Bank, a pedestrian mall lined with interesting boutiques and caf?s,' says Extra Place retail consultant and leasing agent Michael Ewing, principal at Williams Jackson Ewing," the article continued.

"Extra Place," the article added, "is not new. It has actually been a part of New York since about 1800, when landowner Phillip Minthorne divided his 110-acre farm equally among his nine children; the tiny parcel that was left over became Extra Place. The alley dead-ends at the back of a New York University building surrounded by a chain link fence. But it has some notoriety for two main reasons - the building on the west side of the street is the former home of CBGBs, and the east side is part of the Avalon rental development.

"Five years ago," the article said, "the city, through its Department of Housing Preservation and Development, put out a request for a proposal for the vacant area. After speaking with the community board, they developed a plan for the alley. The final product will be a cobblestone street lined with plants and landscaping with a focal point at the end of the alley."

"We want it to be a beautiful and active destination spot," says Ewing. "We want a park-like environment that fosters a sense of community with lots of small retail shops and caf?s."

The Extra Place project is being brought about by Avalon Bay, a developer that made its mark on the neighborhood in 2005 with Chrystie Place, a luxury rental complex at 229 Chrystie Street. That development consists of a 15-story rental building of 361 luxury and middle-income apartments (average market rental prices range from $3,000 a month for a studio to $5,500 a month for a two-bedroom) and the city's largest Whole Foods (85,000 square feet).

Phase II of Avalon Bay's handiwork, Avalon Bowery Place, is a nine-story building with 206 rental units and over 20,000 square feet of retail space that is located at 11 East First Street, right across the street from the cobblestoned Extra Place. "We actually designed it so that it is a continuation of Extra Place across the street," says Maria Masi, development director with Avalon Bay. "There is a long wide walkway leading into the apartment building with commercial spaces on each side."

The two corner spaces already have tenants. To the east will be Bowery Wine Company. The 1,500-square-foot restaurant/bar/caf? will serve dinner (and lunch on weekends), have about 60 seats indoors with another 24 outside, and be open late to accommodate the locals. "We have a built-in clientele with our upstairs neighbors," says owner Chris Sileo....Directly across the way from Bowery Wine Company [is]... Veselka, a 2,600-square-foot outpost of the Lower East Side Ukrainian soul-food staple. "There is a great synergy that works with the both of us," says Sileo.

"On the west side of Extra Place, meanwhile, is hallowed ground to many: 315 Bowery is the former home of CBGBs and has a back entrance directly on Extra Place. "Who knows what used to go on in that alley," says owner Elliot Azrak, principal with Azrak Capital Group. The 3,300-square-foot space, which has 35 feet of frontage on Extra Place, was recently leased to fashion designer John Varvatos. 'This store is going to be totally unique, different from our other boutiques,' he says. 'We're going to make it a great way to look back at this remarkable history but also forward to what's happening today.' The store plans on an opening by the end of March, according to Jonathan Krieger, senior director at Robert K. Futterman and one of the real estate agents who brokered the deal. 'This is a pioneering deal, says Azrak. 'It's like what Jeffrey did to the Meatpacking District.'"

"If John Varvatos and a French caf? sound like a far cry from the area's rock 'n' roll clubs and restaurant and lighting supply stores, realize that the area has been going through a major transformation lately. But not everything has changed. There is a social services and homeless shelter at 317 Bowery, the Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC), which does not plan on moving any time soon."