One after another, each remaining vacant lot along the nearly 1.5 mile-long High Line is giving rise to some of the most architecturally innovative design across the Five Boroughs. Each of the new buildings has their own identity and aesthetics, jostling to be the next spectacle in West Chelsea. One long-awaited and highly anticipated project is The Fitzroy, at 514 West 24th Street, designed by Roman and Williams and developed by a partnership between JDS Development and Largo Investments. Now, the scaffolding has come down, revealing what hopefully won’t be a once-in-a-lifetime revival of Art Deco stylings, built for contemporary sensibilities.
The Fitzroy, designed by Roman and Williams, photo by Tectonic
The building measures a total of nearly 65,300 square feet and is situated on the western side of the High Line. It stands 120 feet and ten stories to its rooftop, with 14 half and full-floor units situated within.
Standing along the street or up on the High Line, the green terracotta facade and copper-framed windows illuminate with the morning sun as it casts thin shadows on the grooves and surfaces of the symmetrical elevation. At night, the lighting, designed by L’Observatoire International, shines upwards against the exterior. Rising in a steady pattern of windows and materials, the eighth floor pulls back from the street at the corners to create landscaped terraces, designed by Evan C. Lai Landscape Designs, that look directly to the High Line and the Hudson River.
The upper section of The Fitzroy, designed by Roman and Williams, photo by Tectonic
The Fitzroy from street level, designed by Roman and Williams, photo by Tectonic
Inside, there are two- to four-bedroom units, each with northern and southern exposures through oversized windows. They start at $5.6 million, marketed by CORE. The penthouse on the ninth floor contains 4,328 square feet of interior space, including four bedrooms, a great room with two private outdoor terraces, a library, and media room. The radiant-heated floors are covered with oak floors arranged in a chevron pattern from end to end. Large eight foot oak doors rise alongside custom millwork and ceilings as high as 10′-10.”
The kitchens are equally impressive, featuring fixtures by Roman and Williams, appliances from Miele, marble countertops by Fiore de Pesco, and black enameled ranges by Lacanche. The master bathrooms feature black Nero Marquina marble slab floors, also radiant-heated, that create a solid contrast with the Paonazzo marble slab walls. A William Holland Cuprosa Bateau copper soaking tub sits in the middle of each bathroom, and goes well with the blackened-brass vanity and steam shower.
Amenities include a 24-hour attended lobby, a fitness center designed by La Palestra, a wine cellar with a personal space for each resident, a landscaped rooftop with a kitchen, an art studio for children, bike storage, and a climate-controlled storage room.
Looking at the local neighborhood, The Fitzroy is close to a number or art galleries while fine dining restaurants are mostly found near the Meatpacking District by Chelsea Market and the Standard Hotel.
When reached for comment on the project’s exterior completion, Roman and Williams co-founder Stephen Alesch told YIMBY:
It’s very exciting to see the scaffold come down. I am just so grateful to have been given the opportunity to design and draw a building with all this original articulation and detail. It’s very inspiring to be given a commission like this and it brings all of us at RW great joy to know there are clients and developers like JDS and Largo that are willing take a stand against banal architecture. The Fitzroy and their other projects represent the voices of people who love beautiful and articulate architecture and know that its not something that just belongs in the past. There is more of this to come for certain!
His words speak loud and clear, and YIMBY looks forward to seeing more high quality projects from Roman & Williams in the near future. An official completion date for The Fitzroy has not been announced, but it looks to come very soon, most likely by the end of the year or early 2019.
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Please pardon me for using your space: Thickness on these. (Thanks to Tectonic)
Nice to see something that isn’t another boring steel and glass box.
Glad to have moved from W 18th St in 1959 to L A,Calif. Was a child at that time. Now I ( and my family) live Carlisle, Pa.
It looks amazing in person. The copper window trim matches the green terracotta so good.