It was just over a month ago that developer Ian Schrager broke ground on his West Village condo project 160 Leroy. On Tuesday evening, he invited guests to come check out the views from another project of his – the hotel and condos under construction at 215 Chrystie Street, in Bowery.
Excavation work for the new condo building at 160 Leroy Street (a.k.a. 156 Leroy Street), in the West Village, began at least a month ago. But on Thursday, at a little after noon, a groundbreaking ceremony was held.
Back in November of 2015, new details and renderings surfaced of the planned 12-story, 49-unit residential building at 160 Leroy Street, in the West Village, and YIMBY can now report that excavation is underway, as seen in a photo by Tectonic. Developers Ian Schrager, Vector Group, and Carlton Group secured $265 million in financing last month for the 184,935-square-foot project. The condominium units will average a very spacious 2,874 square feet apiece, with units ranging from 1,100 square feet to a 12,000-square-foot penthouse, and amenities include landscaped courtyards and gardens, a 70-foot swimming pool and spa, an entertainment lounge, a kids clubhouse, a gym, and an 834-square-foot restaurant. Herzog & de Meuron is the design architect, S9 Architecture & Engineering is serving as the architect of record, and Christian Liaigre is responsible for the interiors. Completion is expected in 2017.
In November, the 28-story, mixed-use building under development at 215 Chrystie Street, on the Lower East Side, was at the 16th floor, and now Bowery Boogie reports the tower has topped out. The 245,264-square-foot structure stands 314 feet above the street level and will include hotel and residential portions. The building’s lower portion will sport a 370-key Public Hotel, with retail and restaurant space located on the ground floor. The upper portion will feature 11 condominium units, each averaging a spacious 3,035 square feet. Ian Schrager and Witkoff are the developers with Herzog & de Meuron as the design architect and Handel Architects is the architect of record. Completion is expected later this year.
The year 2015 marked the near-complete demolition of Times Square’s second oldest structure. The Columbia Amusement Co. Building, which opened at Times Square’s northeast corner on West 47th Street in January 1910. 701 7th Avenue was known by a variety of names during its century-long life span. Like the slightly older yet much more famous One Times Square at the opposite end of the square, the building engaged in the neighborhood’s classic disappearing act, where giant billboards seen by millions made their renovation-scarred hosts all but invisible. But behind the ads, standing on a 16,000-square-foot lot, was a building with a history as dramatic and diverse as that of the famous square on which it stood.
