Recently disclosed expansion plans for the extremely popular Chelsea Market complex have "some residents up in arms," according to an article by Charles V. Bagli in today's edition of The New York Times.
"Under the still-nascent plan, the owner, Jamestown Properties, would add a glass block of roughly eight stories, with 250,000 square feet of office space, above 10th Avenue. On 9 Avenue, the company would erect a 12-story, 90,000-square-foot boutique hotel over the two-story Buddakan restaurant," the article said.
Chelsea Market, the old Nabisco bakery complex that was transformed into a hip food arcade and office building in the 1990s, has served as a neighborhood anchor as the surrounding area turned from a faded industrial wasteland to a haven for galleries, fashion houses, technology firms and flashy apartment houses, the article said. It stretches from 9th to 10th avenues and from 15th to 16th streets.
Jamestown, which has been taken aback by the uproar, is seeking a zoning variance that would allow it to build atop the existing complex, the article said, adding that "it also wants Chelsea Market included in the Special West Chelsea Zoning District, which now begins a block to the north."
"Jamestown would then be required to contribute about $17 million to the city for long-term improvements to the High Line, which passes through the western edge of Chelsea Market. As a consequence, Friends of the High Line, the nonprofit group that raises money for the High Line, the elevated railroad track that has been turned into a popular park, has been an enthusiastic supporter of the proposal. Critics, however, question why the group is promoting development," the article said.
"'The most popular building in Chelsea is the Chelsea Market,' said Robert Trentlyon, a recently retired community board member and a resident of West Chelsea since 1965. 'To have this happen is insane,'" the article continued.
"'I live in a penthouse, the highest old penthouse in Chelsea, and if you look out there is a forest of new buildings in the neighborhood,' Justin Hoy, a 65-year-old lawyer, said at a public meeting of Community Board 4 on Wednesday night. 'When I moved in 25 years ago, there was a clear view north and south on the river. Now it's just skyscrapers,'" the article said.
The article said that "Lesley Doyel, co-president of Save Chelsea, a community group that organized residents to speak against the proposal at the meeting Wednesday, said she only learned of the plans in December and did not get any details until her group forced the Department of City Planning to release documents under the state's freedom of information laws."
Jamestown recently sold 111 Eighth Avenue to Google for about $1.9 billion.
Chelsea Market consists of 16 industrial buildings that were converted in the 1990s by Irwin Cohen into one of the city's most spectacular rehabilitated buildings, including a through-block retail emporium strewn with intriguing artworks and upper floor office space.
The building complex began as a bakery for the National Biscuit Company in the 1890s in several Romanesque style red-brick buildings designed by Romeyn & Stever.
"Under the still-nascent plan, the owner, Jamestown Properties, would add a glass block of roughly eight stories, with 250,000 square feet of office space, above 10th Avenue. On 9 Avenue, the company would erect a 12-story, 90,000-square-foot boutique hotel over the two-story Buddakan restaurant," the article said.
Chelsea Market, the old Nabisco bakery complex that was transformed into a hip food arcade and office building in the 1990s, has served as a neighborhood anchor as the surrounding area turned from a faded industrial wasteland to a haven for galleries, fashion houses, technology firms and flashy apartment houses, the article said. It stretches from 9th to 10th avenues and from 15th to 16th streets.
Jamestown, which has been taken aback by the uproar, is seeking a zoning variance that would allow it to build atop the existing complex, the article said, adding that "it also wants Chelsea Market included in the Special West Chelsea Zoning District, which now begins a block to the north."
"Jamestown would then be required to contribute about $17 million to the city for long-term improvements to the High Line, which passes through the western edge of Chelsea Market. As a consequence, Friends of the High Line, the nonprofit group that raises money for the High Line, the elevated railroad track that has been turned into a popular park, has been an enthusiastic supporter of the proposal. Critics, however, question why the group is promoting development," the article said.
"'The most popular building in Chelsea is the Chelsea Market,' said Robert Trentlyon, a recently retired community board member and a resident of West Chelsea since 1965. 'To have this happen is insane,'" the article continued.
"'I live in a penthouse, the highest old penthouse in Chelsea, and if you look out there is a forest of new buildings in the neighborhood,' Justin Hoy, a 65-year-old lawyer, said at a public meeting of Community Board 4 on Wednesday night. 'When I moved in 25 years ago, there was a clear view north and south on the river. Now it's just skyscrapers,'" the article said.
The article said that "Lesley Doyel, co-president of Save Chelsea, a community group that organized residents to speak against the proposal at the meeting Wednesday, said she only learned of the plans in December and did not get any details until her group forced the Department of City Planning to release documents under the state's freedom of information laws."
Jamestown recently sold 111 Eighth Avenue to Google for about $1.9 billion.
Chelsea Market consists of 16 industrial buildings that were converted in the 1990s by Irwin Cohen into one of the city's most spectacular rehabilitated buildings, including a through-block retail emporium strewn with intriguing artworks and upper floor office space.
The building complex began as a bakery for the National Biscuit Company in the 1890s in several Romanesque style red-brick buildings designed by Romeyn & Stever.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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