Essex Crossing is focusing on another big name: the International Center of Photography. The 43-year-old institution plans to leave its 27,000-square-foot space at 1114 Sixth Avenue, adjacent to Bryant Park, and also sell its 11,000-square-foot museum at 250 Bowery, now that it has signed a contract at 242 Broome Street.
The ICP will purchase two commercial units totaling 40,000 square feet at the base of SHoP Architects-designed building, according to public records cited by the Commercial Observer. ICP executive director Mark Lubell told The New York Times that the sale of its Bowery museum — for which it paid $23.5 million — will fund the purchase of its new home, however, he did not reveal the purchase price.
Its new facility on the Lower East Side will be split between a 20,000-square-foot, four-story structure that connects to another 20,000 square feet space in the main building. The Andy Warhol Museum backed out of a deal for the space in 2015.
Essex Crossing, developed by L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners and Taconic, is expected to be completed by 2024. Renderings of the project’s second phase were released late last month. The development will boast 1,079 apartments, 400,000 square feet of office space and 450,000 square feet of retail when completed. [CO] – Christopher Cameron