Construction is steadily rising on 550 West 21st Street, a 23-story residential building in West Chelsea, Manhattan. Designed by Thomas Juul Hansen and developed by Legion Investment Group and AVRS Partners LP, which took over from Casco Development, the 250-foot-tall structure will span up to 172,000 square feet and yield 83 condominium units. The nearly 0.5-acre property is located at the corner of West 21st Street and the Hudson River Greenway.
The entire multi-story podium was been built since our last update in October, when construction was just starting to rise above street level. Crews are now beginning to form the first floors of the main tower, which features a serrated profile on its eastern and western profiles. YIMBY expects the superstructure to reach the halfway mark before the end of winter and top out around the middle of the year.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
550 West 21st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The below preliminary diagram is shown on the construction board, depicting an L-shaped massing with numerous stepped cutouts above a multi-story podium.
Photo by Michael Young
The project site’s previous developer Casco acquired the property for $50 million in 2014 and planned to construct a nearly 200,000-square-foot building with 34 condominium units and 43,510 square feet of commercial space. The project fell into bankruptcy last summer with a debt of $527 million.
Legion stepped in and became the new developer last year with the help of a $56 million loan from Deutsche Bank, and a $155 million construction loan from Eldridge Real Estate Credit. The developer is also reportedly aiming to add another 11,000 square feet to the scope in exchange for a $7.8 million donation to the West Chelsea Affordable Housing Fund. Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group has been contracted to sell and market the units.
The nearest subways from the property are the C and E trains at the 23rd Street station on Eighth Avenue.
550 West 21st Street is slated for completion in mid-2027 and sales are expected to launch in 2026.
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I love the massing of it, but it is a little monotone
It looks like the UV bleached VHS boxes facing the front winf4ow at the video store.
I miss the video store.
Nice photos and I think it fits in with the surrounding buildings without overdoing it and being too abstract
It’s a very solid design that’s better than average, as it should be.
And this is how you do balconies, if you must.
I question the value of balconies in the long-run repair/maintenance profile of a building. If properly constructed, they’re a bonus, but all too often, they become $$$$ nightmares in just a very few decades.
Interestingly enough, very few apt/condo bldgs in Toronto are without balconies.
By now, I think most people just expect them to be there. In NYC, it’s just the opposite. Some folks feel they are a waste of space. I do know that on some of the older bldgs in Montreal, they have been known to crash down. So yes, they do have to be maintained and people should pay attention to the weight capacity limits.
Hey what happened to the renderings, Yimby? I just saw them this morning when I opened up my phone and now they’re gone. Did the developers tell you to take them down or something?
correct Nick. I saw them too. What is wrong with this developer and showing plans?
They refuse to release renderings of. 14th st site and now they threatened YIMBY? (I presume, since photos are now gone).
I know you are reading this, and I am forever defending the real estate development community. But you are just falling right into stereotype. Do not be sleaze bags. You are going to have to market these units pretty soon. and folks are gonna read up on your shenanigans. Someone needs to hire or fire their marketing and PR team.
Hopefully we get to see rendering soon before this new project tops out. Any idea who the architect is too? Must be someone world renowned for being alongside Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel, Bjarke Ingels, and Frank Gehry all along the same row
I love that buildings facing the west side highway are now said to be facing the “Hudson River Greenway.”