This month, Riva Froymovich drops in on open houses at new developments in Chelsea.
Chelsea: Out looking for condos, and finding “tons of options”
The Onyx Chelsea residence, designed by FXFowle Architects, hasn’t yet opened its doors on West 28th Street and Eighth Avenue, but the sales office was abuzz for an open house last month.
In some ways the clogged West 23rd Street block that holds the sales office embodies the eclectic nature of the new condominium’s neighborhood: The historic Hotel Chelsea, the former rock star playground, stands near Congregation Emunath Israel, the Chelsea synagogue. Some feet farther west, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” plays every Friday and Saturday at Chelsea Cinema. A Dallas BBQ chain even makes a home on the corner at Eighth Avenue, where a little girl and her older brother watched a football game in their Sunday best as their family ate Southern fare at a nearby table.
At the open house, two couples tried to decipher floor plans and envision a future home based on building models. There are 52 apartments with 21 different layouts; 12 of them will have private outdoor space. The 11-story glass façde, from which residents can spot the Empire State Building, will resemble the AOL Time Warner Center. The sales office had been open for about two months by the middle of November, with one-bedrooms going for around $800,000 to $900,000, depending on layout, and two-bedrooms ranging in the low millions.
“[In Chelsea] there’s tons of options,” said one browser, a banker who currently rents in Nolita.
While he hoped to buy an apartment in his current nabe with his girlfriend, the small number of options available there compelled the two to expand their search boundaries to Chelsea.
Chelsea has been one of the most active neighborhoods for new development in Manhattan. Developers submitted plans for more than 2,000 new condo units in the neighborhood from the beginning of 2004 through October of this year, according to data from the New York State attorney general’s office. The rezoning of West Chelsea last year opened the way for thousands more residential units to be built.
High-end design, convenience
Other than the Onyx, new Chelsea projects include the Heywood on Ninth Avenue and development beside the future High Line park, expected to include both housing and shopping.
Those high-end properties share a district with the Elliott-Chelsea Houses, a long-standing subsidized public housing development, as well as with the rollicking club scene near 10th Avenue.
“Within Chelsea, there’s a bunch of different neighborhoods,” the banker said.
For some it’s as much a neighborhood of convenience as a neighborhood of choice.
“There’s a lot of shops and restaurants. It’s safe to walk at night,” said Flavia Pero, who currently rents in Tribeca, while staring at the Onyx’s different room layouts.
She just got married and is looking for a two-bedroom with her husband somewhere in Manhattan. Most important to her are the views, closet space and proximity to the subway. Chelsea provides those conveniences, Pero said.
The Onyx’s modern design includes amenities like a video screen where residents can centrally wire all apartment electronics and fixtures.
“You can do anything you want,” said Fredrik Eklund, Core Group Marketing’s director of sales for the project, flashing a smile and wearing a brown pinstripe suit.
The Glassworks building at 141 West 24th Street, listed by Corcoran agents Meris and Kenny Blumstein, has two out of seven units left. The loft building recalls the industrial history of the neighborhood and boasts original wooden beamed ceilings.
The second floor loft is 2,500 square feet and consists of three bedrooms, a home office, 2 1/2 bathrooms, plus an extra 110 square feet of private outdoor space. It has a direct key-locked elevator entrance and an abundance of light.
During an open house last month the buzzer rang incessantly. Eight groups had already signed in by 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
After two price reductions, traffic had increased and an offer was accepted the night before the open house, agent Kenny Blumstein disclosed while letting more people in. (“You never know what might happen,” he said.)
Interested parties have been a diverse mix, Blumstein said, from couples to empty nesters and singles, old and young.
He said they come for the vibrancy of the neighborhood. Shopping offerings like Whole Foods, on Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street, help lure buyers. Many have also been creatives — the type that work at advertising agencies, Blumstein said.
The asking price on the loft was $2,387,500.
Paul, a researcher who rents on the Lower East Side, wasn’t quite sold. He has been looking for the perfect live/work space for himself and his dog for about two years.
Also undecided were a Connecticut couple, self-identified empty nesters, who “aren’t sure about the neighborhood.”
“It’s,” the woman hesitated, “dirty.”
“We might be more East Side people,” she said.