Permits Filed: 525 West 52nd Street
BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON MAY 13TH 2014 AT 6:00 AM
525 West 52nd Street – image by Taconic/Handel
The first permits are up for a major residential project at 525 West 52nd Street, which has a multitude of partners involved; the site’s developers include the Clinton Housing Development Company, Taconic Investment Partners, and Ritterman Capital. Handel is the architect of record.
DOB filings indicate the development will be quite large, measuring 466,204 square feet; the commercial component will span 32,298 square feet on the ground level, while the residential portion will be split between 392 units. The site will be divided between two buildings, the larger of which will stand 24 stories and 230 feet tall.
525 West 52nd Street — image via Chelsea Now
The overall site has several addresses, and while the permits are filed under 533 West 52nd Street, that lot has already been built-out, and the additional buildings will be located at 525 West 52nd Street and 540 West 53rd Street.
Design-wise, the development’s appearance will be fairly benign. Twenty percent of the site’s housing will be ‘affordable,’ partially explaining the relatively banal appearance, though large structures nearby — including Mercedes House and 625 West 57th Street — are far from boring, and plenty of new 80/20 buildings are legitimately attractive.
Despite the project’s lackluster aesthetics, the additional housing is much needed in Hell’s Kitchen, where prices have skyrocketed in recent years. Neighborhood housing stock has not kept up with demand, and while buildings like 525 West 52nd Street will slightly ameliorate the lack of supply, more large-scale development is needed.
With all necessary approvals imminent, construction should soon be underway, and the entire project should be complete by 2016.
