Caledonia, 450 West 17th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 450 West 17th Street by Carter Horsley

The Caledonia is a 24-story residential building at 450 West 17^th Street on the former site of the Chelsea Garden Center.

It was designed by Handel Architects with “enlightened design” by Clodagh.

It was developed by The Related Companies L.P., and Taconic Investment Partners L.L.C. and it opened in 2008.

It has 190 condominium apartments in the tower and 288 rental apartments in an 8-story wing, of which 58 are “permanently affordable.” The condo and rental sections of the building share a common lobby but have separate elevators.

The building provided $28 million to the High Line Park for public access to the elevated park from its site.

Bottom Line

Directly across 16^th Street from the marvelous full-block Chelsea Market retail and office complex that is one of the major landmarks of Chelsea, and adjacent to the very popular High Line Park, the Caledonia is a large, handsome project that combines condominium and rental apartments with a single lobby but separate elevators.

Description

The “through-block” lobby has a concierge desk “inspired by Richard Serra,” the artist, and “fashioned by a solid walnut slab atop a corten steel base, lit by a kinetic, pulsating light sculpture.”

It also has walls of “flamed and coarsely finished sandstone and Venetian plaster, horizontal bands of grouted amber pebbles, blue-stone flooring” and “cascading water flows into a stone reflecting pool, a floating bridge over the water trough leads from the parking garage into the lobby, elevator cabs feature Osetra suede and metal panel walls, mirrors with metal mesh layering, and blue stone flooring…illuminated bamboo garden through overhead skylight.”

The building, which has a garden with bamboo trees, also has a browsing library with a graphite cement stone fireplace and a “custom anodized iron bamboo privacy screen.”

Amenities

The building has an Equinox fitness center with a kid’s club, a sundeck, a business center, a pet space, a children’s playroom, a garage, bicycle storage, storage bins, 24-hour doormen and concierges, and a residents’ entertainment lounge with “woven grasscloth wall covering with woven window shades.”

Apartments

Apartments have bamboo plank flooring and kitchens have Miele dishwashers, and SubZero refrigerators, both with “integrated bamboo panels.”

Bathrooms have “Golden Sand” tile flooring and quartztite tiled walls, “thick ginger crystal polished quartztite slab countertops,” and “Artic white Corian vessel sinks” as well as custom design fixtures by Watermark “inspired by ancient Etruscan metals” and Toto Caroline one-piece toilers.

Apartment 1005 has a foyer that leads past an open kitchen to an 18-foot-wide living/dining room and a 12-foot-wide bedroom, both of which open onto a 30-foot terrace.

Apartment 1017 is a three-bedroom unit with an 18-foot-long foyer than opens onto a 34-foot-wide great room with an open kitchen and a very large terrace.

Apartment 1112 has a foyer that leads past an open kitchen into a large living/dining area with an adjacent large sleeping area.

Apartment 1509 is a two-bedroom unit with a foyer that leads to a recreation and media room next to a great room with an open kitchen and a very large terrace.

Apartment 639 is a two-bedroom unit with a pass-through kitchen and a 20-foot-long, angled living/dining room.