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Posts Tagged ‘Whitney Museum’
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
 Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 6th, 2011
The opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in Bentonville Arkansas reminded me of the power a strong art museum has in attracting the crowds…. The Whitney Museum currently attracts 300,000 visitors annually to its uptown location. When the new Whitney opens on the West Side in the Meatpacking District, those 300,000 visitors will walk through the neighborhood…thats about 25,000 per months or over 800 new visitors a day. Is the area prepared for this? Certainly this will become a major tourist attraction, combining shopping in the Meatpacking District, a visit to the Whitney, followed by a stroll up the Highline Park to visit more of the contemporary galleries in West Chelsea. Maybe pop into the new Pier 57 too?
While what has happened on the West side to date is pretty revolutionary (The Highline, Hudson Parks, The Standard, Americano and Dream Hotels, the A-grade residential buildings such as 100, 200 Eleventh Avenue, the three Richard Meier Towers, The Superior Ink bulding, the 300+ art galleries), I feel what is coming over the next two to three years will make the West side of Manhattan, from Greenwich Village to northern West Chelsea truly the PLATINUM MILE, surpassing anyone’s expectations. It will represent a quality of life never seen before in Manhattan with a unique mix of culture, parks and architectural splendor this city has never known.
Friday, July 15th, 2011
 Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 15, 2011
The question arose this week (and many times before) about the future of West Chelsea as an Arts Center: will West Chelsea go the way of Soho? Will Gagosian become the Gap? Will Prada replace Paula Cooper? Chanel replace Cheim & Reid?
“The biggest difference between Soho’s evolution into a high fashion retail environment and West Chelsea to-day is the fact that now most galleries own their space and don’t rent,” says Matt Amico, a West Chelsea resident and a Prudential Douglas Elliman broker. “When I moved into the Caledonia (450 West 17th Street)it was a brand new construction building: Alternatively, had I moved into Soho years ago, I probably would have replaced an artist.”
Soho artists did own many of the lofts that they moved from, mostly because they had bought them for next to nothing years ago: subsequently they have left behind a huge mess with the AIR program and walked away with huge, often retirement-fund-sized profits (well deserved, as they pioneered the area and transformed many derelict buildings into habitable homes and studios). West Chelsea is very different as the focus is not so much artists as it is galleries….and these (often highly profitable) galleries own their space this time: In Soho most were renting their retail/commercial space.
Another huge value to anyone in commerce is the high concentration of an industry: With about 350 art galleries concentrated within just a few blocks, the ability to lure potential art buyers is so much greater than being spread around the city, or worse, outside of the City removed from easy access. “The experience of visiting West Chelsea is now further enhanced by the fact that the recently opened Highline Park extension acts as a connector between West Chelsea’s arts district and the Meatpacking District, a thriving retail environment: so the area combines everything that Soho was 15 years ago with what it is to-day.”
The Highline Park, the new Avenue’s School, new restaurants, amenities and services combined with the Hudson River Park to the West add fuel to West Chelsea’s fire. When the subway stop is added to Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street, the northern end of the Arts District will be connected to Times Square via a 5 minute subway ride. Add to this a substantial volume of construction planned for the Hudson Yards area, diminishes the urgency to vacate current art gallery spaces to convert them or tear them down for residential use. There are still many vacant/commercial, non-art gallery building sites in West Chelsea to satisfy developers for several years. Walking on the Highline Park the other night amongst a very civilized group of calmer, more elegantly dispositioned New Yorkers, you actually saw the realization of this amazing neighborhood transformation: illuminated landscaping bracketed by exceptional new buildings that arch over the park such as the two stainless steel clad HL23 and 245 Tenth Avenue …..and in the distance a host of interesting new building mixed in with the older residential and commercial structures….and one day soon all this will terminate at a brand new Whitney Museum….
So my conclusion is that the unique flavor that has been created in West Chelsea is here to stay, for at least the next 10 years, and possibly much longer. Remember the entire area was re-zoned too to prevent a big mess, so maybe this is one area that will serve as a textbook case study for responsible development?
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
 Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 2nd, 2011
The penthouse at 2 Horatio just went to contract for over $ 4,000/sf: Granted it was gut renovated, has spectacular views and significant outdoor space, but 2 Horatio is not exactly considered a trophy building. It is a co-op with lovely apartments, although most are rather ordinary. Across the park (Jackson Square) the penthouse at One Jackson Square sold for significantly less at just under $ 3,000/sf, even though its a brand new condominium with a swimming pool. Around the corner, Jennifer Anniston just bought three apartments including a penthouse on West 12th Street for just under $ 9 million total…they are to be combined and require a complex renovation so at the end of the day, the price will probably be around $ 4,000/sf too. These three apartment sales clearly indicate the strength of West Village pricing in New York…..an area becoming known as RECESSION PROOF.
Its also the area where the young (or young-at-heart) wealthy want to live now. The fact that prices of this caliber are being achieved in OK buildings certainly screams for a new building that delivers more than just great apartments, but also services and amenities to rival uptown buildings such as 15 Central park West.
With the down-zoning of the entire area, views will always sell for a premium in this part of town known for its amazing year-round light and charming tree-lined streets, not to mention its proximity to the Hudson River Park, the Highline Park, Meatpacking District boutiques and nightlife, the new Whitney Museum coming to 12th Street…..and the list goes on. West Greenwich Village rules! (Yes, anything West is pretty good these days, and only getting better.)
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