The new buildings on or near Canal Street are placing their front doors on quieter side streets, not on its bustling sidewalks, according to an article in The New York Times yesterday by C. J. Hughes.

Albert Laboz, a principal of United American Land, for example, is forging ahead with the latest "residential offering, an 18-unit rent in a 19th-Century brick-and-marble" that once housed the Arnold Constable store. The 5-story building was built in 1857 and fills a short block of Mercer Street to Howard Street and its main entrance will b at 53 Howard Street "which runs parallel to Canal and is relatively subdued," the article said.

"The high-ceilinged one- and two-bedrooms in the building, a designated landmark," the article continued, "range in size from 950 to 1,250 square feet. They have original details like exposed wood beams and metal hatches, now sealed, that once opened to an adjacent building. A washer and dryer comes with every unit; prices will range from $5,000 to $7,000 a month when marketing begins in January. United American Land bought the building from Industrial Plastics in 2005 for $13 million; Mr. Laboz declined to cite the renovation cost."

Mr. Laboz owns about a dozen buildings in SoHo including the Soho Mews on West Broadway about half a block away from Canal.

Since 2008, the article noted, the article added, "the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, which prosecutes counterfeiters, among other duties, has shut down more than 100 vendors on Canal, mostly on the southern side between Broadway and Church Streets, a spokesman for the office said."

Zach Vella, a developer whose business, the Vella Group, has offices across the street from the Arnold Constable Building, said crackdowns had made a difference. As he walked to his latest development, a 12-unit condominium under construction at 471 Washington Street, at Canal, he said: "You still get asked to buy a Rolex every few feet. But it has definitely slowed down."

Mr. Vella's eight-story condo, a once-stalled site that he bought from Broadway Bank, the previous developer's lender, still awaits offering-plan approval.

Other condominiums that have opened in recent years include the 2007 Zinc Building, seven stories with a side on Canal, and a 475 Greenwich Street address. A penthouse in the 26-unit structure is listed for $7.2 million, or about $2,700 a square foot. On the ground floor, one of the two retail spaces will soon be home to a high-end motorcycle club; members will pay dues to take Japanese and European bikes out for spins.

Jeffrey E. Levine, the chairman of Douglaston Development, a partner in the Zinc, told The Times that he "designed the building fully conscious of the reality" of Canal's hubbub, adding that many of the living rooms faced Watts Street while the bathrooms overlook Canal.

The article said that development may occur at the site of a closed gas station at West Street, as well as on a parcel owned by Trinity Real Estate at Varick with 111 feet of Canal Street frontage.

"Perhaps the most striking sign that Canal's retail mix may be shifting is Maserati of Manhattan, a dealership that pulled into One York, a condominium near Sixth Avenue this fall. It sold 11 cars in October, said Stan Perelman, the managing principal of Jani Real Estate, One York's developer. One York has sold 37 of its 40 units since sales started in 2006, for an average price of $2,200 a square foot, he said. A one-bedroom resale unit, No. 5A, is listed for about $1.2 million, or about $1,230 a square foot," the article said.