After making its mark throughout Harlem, HAP Investment Developers sets its sights on Chelsea with HAP 8, a pair of adjoining residential buildings at 215-219 West 28th Street and 225 West 28th Street designed by DXA Studio. Demolition of the walk-ups and parking lot formerly on the site took place this spring, and construction is on the rise.
Both buildings in the development will have ground-floor retail. 215-219 West 28th Street will hold 87 condos, and 225 West 28th Street will have 112 rentals. Amenities will include a gym, yoga studio, pool, childcare center, and 98 parking spaces.
Both buildings in the development will have ground-floor retail. 215-219 West 28th Street will hold 87 condos, and 225 West 28th Street will have 112 rentals. Amenities will include a gym, yoga studio, pool, childcare center, and 98 parking spaces.
Unbuilt concept for HAP 8's east tower by Karim Rashid's Kurv Architecture
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Several design and logistical obstacles had to be overcome before HAP 8 could reach this point. There is a height cap of 210-feet for the midblock site. Early concepts prepared by Karl Fischer Architect and then Karim Rashid's Kurv Architecture, showed that the eastern building was to boast two cantilevers, hinting that the adjacent property owners at 217 and 221 West 28th refused to sell their buildings but have agreed to a zoning lot merger. Now, a recently published rendering and city property records show that the holdout at 221 has surrendered their building for $11 million, allowing HAP to build more conventional buildings.
When height limits are in place, New York City developers have come to find unique ways to build out rather than up. The imaginary ceiling prescribed by our zoning laws frequently results in developers devouring neighboring lots to create larger structures. When a property owner refuses to sell —potentially throwing a wrench in a developer’s plans or at least making the endeavor more complex— an agreement can be reached where the holdout’s unused development potential (sometimes called "air rights") can be transferred onto the development parcel.
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When height limits are in place, things get even trickier since sometimes the additional bulk simply cannot fit within the zoning envelope. In these cases, a developer can incentivize (with more money, of course) a resolute neighboring owner to allow the new project to hang over their existing building. Several well-covered cases of this include Extell’s Lucida. Related’s Brompton, and 160 East 22nd Street designed by Perkins Eastman Architects. In the latter, unbuilt plans were drawn to completely bridge over two existing buildings to pack in the maximum possible square footage.
160 East 22nd Street; Photo: Justin Huang; Rendering of early design by Perkins Eastman Architects
Now that HAP 8’s assemblage is complete, construction has ramped up. Digging has begun for the eastern condominium tower and demolition is beginning on the three buildings on the lot of the western rental tower. The development’s amenities will include a fitness center, pool, yoga studio, childcare center, and 98 parking spaces.
Google Earth aerial with HAP 8; CityRealty
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