YIMBY has the reveal for 515 West 29th Street (marketed as 515 High Line), which will become one of the High Line’s defining contemporary icons. Soo Chan of SCDA Architects has been tapped to design the 11-story building, and Joseph Beninati of the Bauhouse Group is developing.
The Commercial Observer reported that Bauhouse Group acquired the land for $24.4 million in September of 2013, and has purchased additional air rights this year, with the site’s potential now totaling 43,000 square feet. Financing was also secured in the form of a $35 million construction loan from Doral Bank.
515 West 29th Street, image from CG Architects
In terms of design, 515 West 29th Street will offer a departure from the more classically-minded structures that have recently gone up along the High Line. While the base of the building will be quite simple, glass will extrude from the upper levels, resulting in a rippling, wave-like effect that will distinguish the project from its surroundings.
515 West 29th Street, image from CG Architects
515 West 29th’s extensive frontage along the High Line provides an additional opportunity for artistic visibility, given that it will face two sides. While a soaring blank wall next to a park would normally be a bad thing, in this instance, it is specifically designed to host large pieces created by emerging artists, and is likely to become a draw in its own right, further activating the public space.
515 West 29th Street, image from CG Architects
Compared to its predecessor, the new building offers a dramatic improvement in terms of both form and functionality. While many of the new buildings fronting the High Line are works of art in and of themselves, Bauhouse’s project integrates non-architectural art into its design. Given the competition rising in surrounding blocks — including Related’s Zaha Hadid-designed 520 West 28th Street — distinguishing individual developments is becoming increasingly difficult, but Soo Chan’s latest work appears to succeed in doing exactly that.
Per the developer, completion is expected in the fall of 2015.
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WORKED AT 515 W. 29 ST ABOUT 15-20 YEARS AGO FOR SPREADING MACHINE EXCHANGE INC. THEY MADE TEXTILE MACHINES. THEY MOVED TO MASPETH QUEENS MID 1990 s. THEY ARE NOT IN BUSINESS ANY MORE. HAD AN OK TIME WHEN THEY WERE IN MANHATTAN, REALLY DID NOT LIKE THE NEIGHBORHOOD THEN, BUT HEARD IT IS CHANGING BIG TIME, WITH THE HIGH LINE & ALL THE ART GALLERIES.
USED TO WORK AT 515 W. 29 ST IN THE EARLY 1980 s THE COMPANY OWNED THE BUILDING, SPREADING MACHINE EXCHANGE, A TEXTILE MACHINE MANUFACTURER. THE MOVED TO MASPETH QUEENS IN THE MID 1990 s. NEVER FIGURED IT WOULD TURN INTO AN APARTMENT BUILDING ONE DAY. STRANGE!!