Village Green West, 245 West 14th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 245 West 14th Street by Carter Horsley

This handsome, 12-story apartment building at 245 West 14^th Street in Chelsea between 7^th and 8^th Avenues was erected in 2013 and designed by KBA Architects (formerly known as Kutnicki Bernstein).

Alfa Development, which is headed by Michael Namer, built the building, which has 27 condominium apartments.  Mr. Namer’s other projects in the city include the Village Green at 311 East 11^th Street, the Chelsea  Green at 151 West 21^st Street and 199 Mott Street.

Bottom Line

An elegant and energy-efficient, mid-block, apartment building with handsome design touches such as cornice “notches” to match the “grouts” of the building base’s piers. 

Description

This orange/red-brick building rises 8 stories to an attractive dark cornice and then sets back for four more stories except for the center section that rises two stories in with dark surrounds and then setbacks.

Three of the building’s four ground-floor bays are devoted to retail.

The top of the building has a slightly larger cornice than the one at the 8^th floor.

The building has five brick piers each of which has a narrow “grout”  that gives the base of the building a nice texture when combined with the dark spandrels and the lower cornice’s small “notches” above the piers. Only the top cornice’s center notches are paired.

The building has a very nice lobby with a multi-pane glass vestibule with dark metal frames.

According to a September 30, 2013 article by Jessica Dailey at ny.curbed.com, Mr. Namer, the developer, described the building’s design as “industrial chic” with British and bespoke influences.

The building is aiming for LEED Gold certification for its water-conserving fixtures, energy-efficient appliances, high performance windows and a heating and cooling system that is designed to cut energy costs in half.  All woods in the building have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and all paints, coatings and sealants have no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Kitchens have water filtration systems and garbage disposals.

Amenities

The building has a full-time doorman, a concierge, a live-in superintendent, a roof deck, a children’s playroom, a bicycle room, a fitness center, and a garden.

Apartments

The top four floors are full-floor units.

Apartment T1 is a four-bedroom unit with 3,025 square feet of interior space and 552 square feet of exterior space.  It has a long entrance hall that leads to a 33-foot-long living room with an 18-foot-wide open kitchen and two corner, 12-foot-wide terraces.  There master bedroom and another bedroom open onto a 26-foot-long terrace.

Apartment 2C is a two-bedroom unit with 1,500-square-foot of interior space and 556 square feet of exterior space and a 27-foot-long living room with an open, pass-through kitchen and a 48-foot-long terrace.

Apartment C on the 3^rd through the 6^th floors has 839 square feet of interior space and 82 feet of exterior space with a 13-foot-long dining room across from an open kitchen and an 18-foot-long living room with a 12-foot-wide balcony.

Apartments D on the third through the 6^th floors is a 644-square-foot, one-bedroom unit with an entry foyer that leads past an open kitchen to the 18-foot-long living room that has a 12-foot-wide balcony.