The Grasso Holdings-developed condominium at 245 Tenth Avenue, once more than 60 percent in contract before construction stalled, kicked off its renewed sales effort with an open house last night at a fifth-floor unit overlooking the High Line. Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery is currently the lone tenant, having moved into one of the two ground-floor office condos in September 2009. Brokers Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier of Prudential Douglas Elliman market the residential portion of the building.
According to Steinberg, between the High Line’s extension to Greenwich Village, the subway station planned for 11th Avenue and 34th Street, and Avenues, an exclusive private school slated to open next year nearby on 10th Avenue, the neighborhood is primed to become one of the city’s most sought-after. The neighborhood’s galleries and restaurants remind him of Soho before “it became like a mall,” but the High Line will be the biggest draw. “For as long as I’ve been in the business people have wanted to live uptown for its proximity to the park,” Steinberg said. “The High Line adds tremendously to West Chelsea’s quality of life.”
The building was originally slated for a 2007 opening and at one point about 60 percent of the units were in contract, according to Steinberg. But construction delays, which were compounded by Grasso’s employment of the crane company that operated the crane that that collapsed on the Upper East side, and the financial crisis, made it impossible to peg down an opening date and pending buyers were scared off. Steinberg and Senequier took over marketing at the project from the Corcoran Group, which declined to comment on past difficulties, in December. Grasso was not available for comment.