99 Jane Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 99 Jane Street by Carter Horsley

This handsome condominium apartment building was erected by Rockrose Development Corporation, one of the city's leading residential developers and converters, in 1999.

The 11-story building was designed by Fox & Fowle, the architects of many major office buildings such as 4 Times Square, and is one of the largest post-World War II buildings in the West Village.

The building has large windows, many with stunning Hudson River views. It is near a very attractive, gated neighborhood park along Washington Street.

The apartments have 9- to 11-foot-high ceilings, maple floors, stainless steel kitchen appliances and many have French-style balconies or terraces.

In their book, "New York 2000, Architecture and Urbanism Between The Bicentennial and The Millennium," Robert A. M. Stern, David Fishman and Jacob Tilove observed that "Rockrose's 100 Jane Street (Avinash Malhotra, 1996) made possible by the removal of the southernmost portion of the High Line, had little to recommend it. But across the street, the same developer's 99 Jane Street (1999) at the northwest corner of Washngton Street ... was a far more distinguished design. Fox & Fowle carefully masked an H-shaped plan to form a central eleven-story tower flanked by six-story wings with full and French balconies adding interest to the extensively glazed red-brick-clad façade. The 177,000-square-foot, eighty-three unit apartment building was set back from Washington Street to create a 7,000-square-foot gated park open to the community."

This section of the West Village has some cobblestone streets and many attractive townhouses. There are many charming restaurants and boutiques in the area but cross-town buses and subway stations are several blocks away.