Hilary Gardens, 300 Mercer Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 300 Mercer Street by Carter Horsley

The southernmost building of a pair of tall apartment buildings on the west side of Broadway between West 8^th Street and Waverly Place, this 34-story building has 489 rental apartments.  It is known as Hilary Gardens and was erected in 1976.

The other tower is 31 stories and has 389 condop apartments and is known as Georgetown Plaza.  It was designed in 1967 by Leo Stillman and John Pruyn for Rose Associates.

This tower was designed by Joseph Feingold.

Both buildings were the tallest of their era in Greenwich Village and were not in context with the neighborhood.  They did, however, have large, raised plaza on Mercer Street and arcaded bases with tall lobbies. The towers rose without setbacks and both have rooftop fitness centers with pools. 

They both were convenient to mass transit and shopping and were close to the campuses of New York University and Cooper Union.

Bottom Line

A huge, “plain vanilla” luxury rental tower on Broadway in Greenwich Village with corner balconies, an open rooftop pool, a raised, landscaped plaza and a dramatic and large, V-shaped, glass entrance marquee.

Description

This tower has a curved, five-step-up entrance to its large, landscaped plaza on Mercer Street that also wrapped about the south end of the building facing Waverly Place. 

The “L”-shaped tower has a large V-shaped entrance marquee.

Its light orange-brick façade had many corner balconies in contrast to the slightly curved balconies on the yellow brick façades of Georgetown Plaza.

Both towers have retail bases on Broadway and discrete air-conditioners.

Amenities

The building has a concierge and a doorman, a live-in superintendent, a laundry, a garage and a fitness center with a rooftop pool.

Apartments

A one-bedroom unit has a 29-foot-long living room with a 12-foot-wide sleeping area and a balcony and a 10-foot-long, windowed kitchen.

Another one-bedroom unit has a 22-foot-long living room with an enclosed 7-foot-long kitchen.