455W37, 455 West 37th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 455 West 37th Street by Carter Horsley

This 23-story rental apartment building at 455 West 47^th Street at Tenth Avenue was erected in 2009 by Rockrose Development Corporation and is owned now by TF Cornerstone.

It has 394 units and was designed by Gary Handel of Handel Architects.

It is across the avenue from another major rental project at 505 West 37^th Street that has about 460 rental units in a 43-story tower and 370 units in a 34-story tower.

Both projects are in the Special Hudson Yards District that is close to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to the west and the Hudson Yards redevelopment to the south.  The district will create a diagonal avenue roughly between 34^th and 42^nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues along which the city has significantly increased the potential zoning envelopes.

This building, which is also known as 484-490 Tenth Avenue and 448-460 West 38^th Street, is across the street from Mikhail Baryshnikov’s new arts center.  About 80 of its apartments will be low-income units.

The project’s website described its neighborhood as the city’s “new frontier,” a “neighborhood with a style, feel, vibrancy and creativity all its own – poised to challenge the city’s hottest hoods with an address on the cusp of Hell’s Kitchen, bordering the Theater District, and benefiting from Chelsea’s artistic attitude.  And it’s only a hop to the water at Hudson River Park.”

Bottom Line

Part of a handsome, three-building rental apartment complex straddling Tenth Avenue that was erected before the huge Hudson Yards development a few blocks to the south began.

Description

The building at 455 West 37^th Street has one major façade that is slightly angled near the middle and some setbacks and numerous balconies.  

Its façades are similar to those in the two TF Cornerstone buildings also designed by Mr. Handel across Tenth Avenue. 

This building, which is also known as 484-490 Tenth Avenue and 448-460 West 38^th Street, is across the street from Mikhail Baryshnikov’s new arts center.  About 80 of its apartments will be low-income units. 

The project’s website described its neighborhood as the city’s “new frontier,” a “neighborhood with a style, feel, vibrancy and creativity all its own – poised to challenge the city’s hottest hoods with an address on the cusp of Hell’s Kitchen, bordering the Theater District, and benefiting from Chelsea’s artistic attitude.  And it’s only a hop to the water at Hudson River Park.” 

Community Board 4 voted against a proposal by Rockrose to create a mid-block park at 455 West 37^th Street and transfer its air rights to permit the building to rise 8 more stories.  

It has a very handsome entrance on the side-street with a steel marquee and an angled and pleated metal wall to its east.

Amenities

The building has a doorman and a concierge, a landscaped roof deck on the 11^th floor, bicycle storage, a garage, and a fitness center.

Apartments

Apartments have floor-to-ceiling windows, pass-through kitchens with granite counters and stainless steel appliances. 

Apartment 15 on the 2^nd floor, Apartment 17 on floors 4 through 7 and Apartment 16 on floors 8 through 10 are two-bedroom units with long entry foyer that leads to a 23-foot-long living/dining room with an open, windowed, pass-through kitchen. 

Apartment 18 on floors 5 and 7 is a one-bedroom unit with a 21-foot-long living/dining room with an open, pass-through kitchen. 

Apartment 6 on floors 16 and 17 and 21 through 23 and the penthouse is a one-bedroom unit with an angled, 21-foot-long living/dining room and an open kitchen.