Amid an overload in the Manhattan luxury market, Cary Tamarkin and High Line Development Group have switched marketing strategies and cut prices at their 19-unit West Chelsea condo project.
Sales for “the first handful of units” at 550 West 29th Street are launching Wednesday, according to Nest Seekers International’s Ryan Serhant, who took over marketing from CORE. The mix of three- and four-bedroom units will be priced in the “low $3 million range to $7.5 million,” and more units will hit the market as sales are made. Sales for the condo first launched in fall 2017 with prices ranging from $4.6 million to $13.5 million.
“If you look at how other projects in the neighborhood and beyond are pricing their product, we are so much more competitive,” Eldad Abramove, vice president at High Line Development wrote in an email. “Let us not forget that Hudson Yards is one of the hottest neighborhoods and we are right here!”
But the broker swap and lower prices aren’t the only new things with the project. Serhant has also coined a new name for the neighborhood as part of his marketing strategy: SoHY — as in South of Hudson Yards and pronounced like “so-high.”
“I think it’s the best name ever,” Serhant told The Real Deal. He came up with the moniker as a way to both pinpoint the location of the condo and differentiate it from the towering block of condos steps away at Related Companies’ megadevelopment.
“It’s a different lifestyle,” Serhant said of the 550 West 29th Street. “My hope is for [SoHY] to grow as a residential hub.”
Serhant said he was not concerned about moving the units amid a broader slowdown at the higher-end of Manhattan’s residential market as Manhattan is set to see 20,000 new units come online. “I think buyers are just value conscious… but buyers are still buying apartments everyday,” he said.
The building is split into four simplexes — one-floor units — 12 duplexes and three penthouses. Almost all the units have private terraces and building amenities include a gym, sauna, bike room and 24-hour doorman.
The developers refinanced the project in April with a $72 million loan from Madison Realty Capital. Tamarkin did not respond to requests for comment.
In the original application filed with the state Attorney General’s office the architect-developer was aiming for a project sellout of between $118.9 million and $148.9 million and the plans included a commercial unit. Now, Abramove said they are projecting a $129.5 million sellout.