Anbau Enterprise’s Chelsea condo is latest to buck ultra-luxury trend

When its Chelsea condo hits the market next week, Anbau Enterprises will be the latest in a series of developers to eschew the trend towards ultra-luxury development and bank on (relative) affordability to sell units.

The Wall Street Journal reported that like Brodsky Organization’s 422 West 20th Street in Chelsea and John Buck Company’s Reade57 in Tribeca, Anbau Enterprise’s 124 West 23rd Street won’t feature the glass exteriors, extra frills, or super-luxurious amenities that characterized the city’s condo boom last decade.

Those were the initial plans, but Anbau pivoted following the recession and decided to build a more traditional building with a brick facade. The construction has been met with some turmoil, as The Real Deal reported, but the developer will launch sales next week regardless. The 29 units will range from $650,000 to about $4 million, and Streeteasy.com lists the marketer to be Corcoran Group.

Judging by the early returns on Reade57 and the West 20th Street sales effort there’s a demand for this middle-tier development even as $100 million penthouses grab headlines.

In fact, another project at 5 Franklin Place in Tribeca also recently reneged on its luxurious aspirations and settling for more subdued units. [WSJ]