Features
Rendering of 124 West 16th Street from DHD Architecture
From Future New York
Despite Lawsuit, Chelsea's Church-Encroaching Condos Top Off
By CityRealty Staff
Friday, June 9, 2017
Einhorn Development Group’s controversial condo project at 124 West 16th Street has topped off construction. The local developer acquired the parcel for $4 million in 2012 from the adjacent French Evangelical Church. To grow the project larger, Einhorn purchased the unused development rights from the church and was given permission to bridge over the sanctuary. The mid-blocks of Chelsea have a height limit of 120 feet which is why Einhorn had to expand outwards rather than vertically.
Topped out steel skeleton of 124 West 16th Street; CityRealty
The charming, un-landmarked church was constructed in 1835 in a style of Romanesque Revival. In recent times, the congregation struggled to pay for repairs and was forced to sell their annex building and air rights to survive. In March, DNAinfo reported that a group of neighbors called the Save 16th Street Committee filed a lawsuit accusing the Department of Buildings of improperly approving the developer’s plans. With the new building’s steel frame now fully up and construction ongoing, it doesn't appear they have made their case.
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The residential building is designed by David Howell’s DHD Architecture and will be clad with a 2” bluestone masonry skin. The firm has several new buildings on the boards using the clean look such as 132 West 83rd Street and 37 Lafayette Avenue. Their design here has been called “monstrous” and "horrifying," but in person, the structure’s 120-foot height is not out of line with Chelsea’s sidestreets. How the building cantilevers over the church is another story, but that’s more of a result of our flawed zoning code.
According to their profile on the project, the building will hold 14 for-sale apartments with five full-floor residences plus a duplex penthouse. New buildings on the Chelsea midblocks are relatively rare, and the last to debut was the equally controversial 35XV whose 24-story height was also deemed too tall.
Google Earth aerial showing location of 24 West 16th Street; CityRealty
DHD says the building will fit into the “’boutique luxury segment of the market.” Condo closing prices in Chelsea are well above the Manhattan average and stand at $1,838 per square foot. Per our "buy" page, the neighborhood has a large inventory of condo buildings and currently has 227 apartments for sale priced at an average of $2,094 per ft². Available one-bedrooms in the neighborhood are priced at a median of $1.5M , two-bedrooms at $3.095M and three-bedrooms at $4.65M.
The old church under there somewhere; CItyRealty
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