Dismantling work is proceeding on a scaled-down development at 123 West 15th Street where the previous owner had planned a 7-story, 4-unit, midblock building that drew "on multiple inspirations - aeronautical, geological, planetary - playfulness with arcilinearity."

The new plans call for a much more modest, two-unit building, according to an article today by Joey Arak at curbed.com, which indicated that the property was sold in June for $3,400,000.

Last February, Massey Knakal Realty Services was offering it for $5,250,000 with approved plans for the 7-story building then under construction. The project was originally planned by Terrapin Industries LLC of which Colin and Pamela Rath are principles and was unusually flamboyant for a mid-block residential building in Chelsea.

An article entitled "Not In My Front Yard" by Fred A. Bernstein in the June 17, 2007 edition of The New York Times quoted Robert Boddington, a neighbor, as describing the project's bulbous penthouse as "an alien pod that landed on the roof."

An October 21, 2008 article at Curbed.com indicated that Mr. Rath had placed an item at Go4Funding.com requesting an equity investor to complete the project, which was notable for its large rounded balconies and very large, rounded, cantilevered element. A website for the project then noted that "in a nod to New Orleanian Franco-Spanish architecture, whirling ironwork adorns each home's private and extensive outdoor space."

The development also included a turntable garage and geothermal heating and the apartments were planned with wood-burning fireplaces, many curved walls and private elevator entry.

Mr. Rath's posting at Go4Funding.com indicated that the Raths spent "2005 and first half of 2006 negotiating the sale of 7 SRO units to empty the building."

"Then we started the foundation and renovation of the building mid of 2006. November, 2006 it came to my attention that my original foundation contractor was not making the foundation pilings to bedrock (10) pilings and the controlled inspector that was hired to do independent reports on his work fraudulently reported that they were done correctly. This arose when we decided to double check the work. The result was none of the pilings were correctly built to plans and the complete foundation had to be ripped out and redone. I am in the process of a lawsuit against my foundation contractor, the controlled inspector and my builders risk to recover the $3,500,000 in expenses that I paid to have the foundation redone & correctly tied into bedrock with (43) caissons into bedrock on top of the original $1,000,000 paid to the first foundation contractor . It took from November 2006 to July 2007 to get the foundation corrected and start erecting steel. Had this not happened the building would have been finished already....BRT Realty Trust who held the mortgage on the project had a 10 month completion default section in the loan documents and enforced it. Redoing the foundation brought us over budget. BRT was fed up with the deal....So they foreclosed on me and liquidated my collateral loan account....I kept the project going with my own money and keeping the contractors at bay so no liens would be put on the building and get as much of the work done as possible with limited funds."

He said he eventually got a commitment from a lender but then that lender "fell apart and stopped returning calls...."

The Raths live in an apartment with a two-story waterfall and an 18-inch deep "river" with 10 koi, according to the Times article, at 121 West 15th Street and demolished the adjoining property. The article said the Raths called their project at 123 West 15th Street "Valhalla."

According to plans on file with the Department of Buildings, Stanley Gendel was the architect, but more recently it listed Spencer Gorrof of SRA Architecture and Engineering but the new plan was disapproved September 23, 2009.