Back in July of 2014, YIMBY reported on the first filings for a new development coming to 150 East 23rd Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues, in Gramercy. The 19-story project is being designed by ODA Architecture, and we now have the reveal for the building, which is being developed by Kent Chang of LKH 23rd LLC.
The replacement’s exterior will blend masonry and glass, and will include 5,765 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Above, the structure will hold 74,282 square feet of residential space divided between 52 units, for a condo-sized average of over 1,400 square feet.
NoMad’s rapid evolution has also spilled into Gramercy, and 150 East 23rd Street is symptomatic of a boom that includes Naftali’s 234 East 23rd Street, as well as larger nearby projects, like Continuum’s 45 East 22nd Street.
The new structure will replace three existing buildings, spanning 150-154 East 23rd Street, all of which have degraded significantly over time. The shortest building was particularly nondescript , and the first two floors of the other buildings had also been altered significantly from their original states.
ODA’s design will evidently nod to the old buildings with what appears to be stone cladding on the lower levels, which will yield to an angular and glassy roof. This project also looks like it will lack the boxy protrusions that characterize much of the firm’s work, instead substituting an array of variegated windows.
No completion date has been formally announced but the most recent new building applications were disapproved, although demolition of the existing buildings has been cleared to begin.
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Those two older buildings have really beautiful façades on the upper floors. It’s a shame those can’t be preserved and integrated.
Wow, the new buildings are ugly beyond belief.
Y’know, maybe the public wouldn’t be so hostile to new development if it wasn’t so goddamn painful on the eyes.
I truly fear for the ability of the stately trees, beautiful flowers and the various shrubbery in and surrounding historic Gramercy Park to survive as more and more monstrocities cast shadows and block needed sunlight. These greed-driven buildings will not alleviate any housing issues the city has – just make the developers richer. A crime against nature.
It’s a shame wealthy developers are too stupid to know that people enjoy seeing beautiful older facades, not boring blocks of glass. Alas…
I don’t like the new designs at all. The glass shapes thrown on top look weird. When will architects learn that building are best when they have a timeless quality? These look like a student project that gets a poor grade.