UPDATED, 1:18 p.m., May 21: Michael Shah’s Delshah Capital is getting ready to roll out its luxury condo development at 221 West 17th Street in Chelsea, unveiling a rendering for the project with plans to launch sales within the next two weeks.
The real estate investment firm received approval to start testing the market for the 10-story residential development, known as The Dorian, from the state attorney general’s office this week. Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes team is handling sales, which are expected to commence this month once the project receives full condo approval.
The roughly 40,000-square-foot development, located between Seventh and Eighth avenues, features 14 residential units including full-floor penthouse units on the seventh through 10th floors and two units on each of the second through sixth floors. The building’s ground floor will house a commercial retail space.
Delshah expects to have the project ready for move-in by the end of 2016, with lower-floor residences starting at around $3 million and the building’s top-floor 3,000-square-foot penthouse, which features three bedrooms and private roof access, asking between $9 million and $10 million.
Rendering of 221 West 17th Street in Chelsea
The Dorian is located near JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group’s Walker Tower and both Shah and Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund said the development hopes to capitalize on the area’s desirability at a more accessible price point. The Walker Tower’s Penthouse One recently went back on the market asking $70 million — nearly $11,800 per foot — after closing for $51 million early last year.
Delshah acquired the Dorian site, which previously housed a six-story commercial building, for $26.4 million last year.
“When we looked at this site, what we wanted to create was something very different from the Walker Tower,” Eklund told The Real Deal. “Smaller, more efficient units, but really high end finishes.” The project, Eklund added, hopes “to give people who might be priced out of those units in the Walker Tower those those and amazing light.”
While noting that The Dorian is “going to be by far the most luxurious development in our portfolio,” Shah told The Real Deal that Delshah “wanted to keep the price point below that $20 million-plus condo unit.”
“There’s not a lot of supply in that $10 million-and-under market with very high end finishes,” Shah said. “The lower-floor units are between $3 million and $5 million, and I think for a large unit in Chelsea, that’s a really good deal.”
The building’s amenities include a doorman and storage units, while most of the units come with outdoor balconies. Neal Beckstedt Studio designed the interiors.