Yves, 166 West 18th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 166 West 18th Street by Carter Horsley

The 14-story, blue-glass-clad residential condominium building at 166 West 18th Street on the southeast corner at Seventh Avenue is known as Yves.

It was developed by Lemadre Development LLC, of which Mark Ravner is a principal and which purchased the site in 2006 for about $25 million from Rose Realty Group LLC of which Alfred Caiola is a principal.

The building has several setbacks beginning at the 8th floor and it has 81 feet of frontage on the avenue. It also has the address of 127 Seventh Avenue.

Ismael Leyva is the architect.

The building is highlighted with stainless-steel bands and piers that run down from the roof and setback corners in three, symmetrical, "U"-shaped configurations centered on the building's corner at Seventh Avenue. The narrow stainless-steel bands and piers are like Coco Chanel's piping and are strong punctuation.

The building has an entrance marquee, a concierge, 41 apartments and a swimming pool whose bottom has a bold wavy pattern in its basement. Mr. Leyva's website showed that baths will have free-standing tubs rising from a gravel bed.

It replaced a four-story, red-brick building that formerly housed a Sunday school and then a horse stable and then Le Madri restaurant, which left the premises in 2005.

In June, 2005, the Council of Chelsea Block Associations and Community Board 4 proposed that that low-rise building be designated as a landmark but the Landmarks Preservation Commission declined to calendar a hearing on it.

An article by Albert Amateau in the March 15-21, 2006 edition of The Villager noted that "a marble stone set in the face above the first floor had the words 'Mission School' on the first line and a second line with the barely readable words 'Presbyterian church 5th Av 12th St.' with a date on the last line that appeared to be 'AD 1874.' His article also stated that "a history of the First Presbyterian Church at Fifth Ave. at W. 12th St. indicates the church operated a mission school from 1868 to 1885 but does not say where."

A photograph with that article showed the building with a protruding center bay with two arched inner bays, a sculpture of a horse's head above them, and a crenellated cornice with a center pediment.

Apartments have Calcucine all glass kitchen cabinetry, Sub-Zero refrigerators and Miele ovens and bathrooms have Calcucine vanities, Duravit sinks and subs and Starck 3 toilets. The building has Abigail Michaels concierge service, a fitness center, individual storage space and a landscaped roof deck.