I’m very pleased that this lousy lumber yard is finally moving.
First Look at Rafael Viñoly’s Boxy Chelsea Office Building
Wednesday, Jan 6, 2016, by Amy Plitt
A recent Crain’s article about the trend of “boutique office properties” offers one particularly interesting tidbit for the architecture-obsessed: the first rendering of Rafael Viñoly’s latest NYC commission, an office building at 61 Ninth Avenue.
Viñoly’s building will replace the nearly century-old Prince Lumber, a holdover from the Meatpacking District and Chelsea’s industrial days. The new structure will stand nine stories, with 115,000 square feet of office space and 37,000 square feet devoted to retail. Though it’s shorter and squatter than the Uruguayan architect’s best-known NYC project, 432 Park Avenue, it has some of the same boxiness that defines that supertall building. (But is this one inspired by a trash can, or some other quirky quotidian object?)
Construction is set to start by the middle of this year, with an anticipated completion date of 2018—and the whole thing will cost $100 million. But according to Crain’s, rents in the building will likely start at $150 per square foot, which is double the average for Class A spaces in Midtown, so the developers shouldn’t be in the red for long.
![http://www.hhbuilders.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/15th-9th_20150331.jpg[/url]](http://www.hhbuilders.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/15th-9th_20150331.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
![http://www.hhbuilders.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/14th-9th_20150331.jpg[/url]](http://www.hhbuilders.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/14th-9th_20150331.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}