21 West Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 21 West Street by Carter Horsley

This handsome Art Deco rental apartment building has an excellent Lower Manhattan location adjacent to the former Downtown Athletic Club and is one block north of Battery Park. It is close to Trinity Church, the Financial District, Ground Zero and Battery Park City.

The 31-story structure at 21 West Street was converted from a 1926 office building in 1998 by Rose Associates, one of the city's leading residential developers and managers. The conversion was designed by Schuman Lichtenstein Claman & Efron.

With many corner windows and strong vertical façade accents, this is one of the better Art Deco skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan, although its location and height does not afford it commanding vistas from most of its 269 units.

21 West Street, which was formerly known as Le Rivage, is also known as 11 Morris Street and 34 Washington Street. It faces on an entrance to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which affords it considerably more "light and air" than many other inland downtown buildings. There are plans to develop the Manhattan approach to the tunnel but they have not been finalized.

The building has a doorman, a health club, a garage, a bicycle room, storage space, valet service, a sundeck and it permits dogs.

Apartment ceilings range from 10 to 13 1/2 feet high and apartments are wired for up to 8 phone lines. Every floor has a laundry facility and there are storage lockers available throughout the building and several subway stations are nearby

The Lower Manhattan district is the city's most fascinating and dramatic architecturally and the residential conversion of many older office buildings has finally attracted new restaurants and neighborhood convenience stores.