Michael Shvo’s high-end art-themed condominium project at 239 10th Avenue in Chelsea will be up to 12 stories tall and contain 12 to 15 units.
Shvo, in partnership with Victor Homes, plans to break ground on the building early next year, in time for an opening in the fall of 2015. Apartments will range from two-bedrooms to four-bedrooms. The target buyers are art collectors — “from the actual systems that’ll be in the building to ways of getting art in the building, climate controls, the window system, the security system, hanging systems, weight of the floor,” Shvo said.
The building’s retail will include 4,000 square feet on the base and 4,000 square feet below grade, he told the New York Times.
In line with the art theme, the construction site – formerly a Getty gas station – has doubled as an art exhibit made up of late French artist François-Xavier Lalanne’s concrete sculptures of sheep. This will be the first of several art shows set to occur at the site as construction goes along, Shvo said.
Though the developers paid a record price of $800 per buildable square foot for the parcel, Shvo dismissed concerns that his target buyers would scoff at the presumably sky-high prices for the future homes.
“It’s not about the dollar per square foot,” he told the Times. “When you go buy a Birkin bag at Hermès, you’re not calculating how much you’re paying for every inch of your bag.”
He also hinted at future projects, including two in Midtown and a 300,000-square-foot Soho development with Keystone Group. [NYT] — Mark Maurer