AVA High Line, 525 West 28th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 525 West 28th Street by Carter Horsley

Ava High Line is a 405-unit rental apartment complex at 525 West 28^th Street adjacent to the High Line Elevated Park in Chelsea.

It was completed in 2014 and designed by SLCE for AvalonBay Communities.

The huge development consists of a 31-story tower on 11^th Avenue and a very long, 13-story mid-block section west of the High Line.

It is across from the 28^th Street entrance to the High Line and its frontage on 11^th Avenue occupies the blockfront between 28^th and 29^th Streets and is one block south of the Hudson Yards project.

Bottom Line

This very large development caters to the young who remember roommates and like the high life of the city’s bustling High Line environment.

Description

The tower and the mid-rise, mid-block sections of the development have a few setbacks and numerous corner windows.

The tower has an exposed watertank on its roof as does the mid-block, mid-rise section.

The fenestration patterns are horizontal except for the lower sections of the mid-block section which has some vertical accents that help divide the structure visually

The tower’s avenue frontage above the lower floors, which contain some retail space, is mostly glass.

The building, which is also known as 282 11^th Avenue, has red-brick masonry and discrete air-conditioners.

Amenities

The development has a concierge, a fitness center, a garage, a backyard with fire pit and BBQs, a bicycle room and a Chill Lounge. It is near ZipCar and Citibike facilities and is a smoke-free environment.

Apartments

Some apartments have barn-door separations of space and open kitchens and all have washers and dryers and black quartz kitchen countertops.

Six apartments on the first floor have private yards.

Floors 2-8 have 35 apartments each.

Floors 9-12 have 30 apartments each.

The 14^th floor has 28 apartments.

A studio unit has a 29-foot-long living/dining/sleeping area with an open, pass-through kitchen and a very long private terrace.

A 673-square-foot, one-bedroom unit has a large, angled, entry foyer that leads to a 17-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen and access to a very large private yard.

Apartment B21 is a two-bedroom unit that has a foyer with an open, pass-through kitchen that leads to a 23-foot-long living/dining room with corner window.

Apartment B27 is a three-bedroom duplex with a foyer that opens onto a open kitchen with an island that leads staircase and a 17-foot-long living/dining room that opens onto a large terrace and a bedroom on the lower level and two bedrooms on the upper level.

Location

The building is a couple of blocks north and east of the great Starrett-Lehigh Building whose monumental mass and rounded corners make it one of the city’s most impressive industrial landmarks.

Its long and massive bulk, of course, is not new to Chelsea, where the formerly Port Authority Building at 111 Eighth Avenue at 15^th Street now houses Google and where the London Terrace enclave on West 23^rd Street gives a red masonry elegance to the area, which abounds in art galleries and restaurants.

The building’s adjacency to the High Line, of course, is a major attraction as the elevated park is one of the most popular and attractive in the city.