Over on the Far West Side of the middle of Manhattan, just slightly out of transit’s reach, Hell’s Kitchen has been filling out with residential buildings of every sort. First came rental buildings, then condo developments, then notable luxury buildings like the Stella Tower redevelopment.
Brooklyn may be booming, and Western Queens is cool now, but there will always be people who want to live in Manhattan. Hell’s Kitchen, once considered a seedy neighborhood, is now nearly out of space on which to develop.
The neighborhood has become highly marketable, being within “walking distance” (it’s a big neighborhood) to the Theater District, Central Park, and the Hudson River.
It’s a comparatively affordable piece of Manhattan, and restaurants have been filling in the neighborhood almost weekly over the past year. But for first time buyers trying to take advantage of the low mortgage rates, the two or three year wait before they can move into some of the new developments in Hell’s Kitchen can make them hesitate.
Jaclyn Boulan, an agent at Stribling Marketing Associates, says the fact that the 432 West 52nd Street building she is marketing has immediate occupancy has been a huge advantage.
“It’s instant gratification,” Boulan said. “There is nothing else in the area with immediate occupancy.”
The building launched sales just a week ago, with a rooftop restaurant event, “A Taste of Hell’s Kitchen.”
432 West
The 55-unit luxury condominium building was designed to appeal to the masses, according to the marketing team.
Originally a St. Vincent’s Hospital building, the Chetrit Group purchased the site in 2007 and started to convert it into condos.
JVL Property Group, Okada Acquisitions, and West Coast developer Zion Enterprises then purchased the building from Chetrit Group and continued the condo conversions.
Agents and marketing teams are often brought on to developments from the design stage, especially if the developer is new to the market or does not have that on-the-grounds experience.
Therefore, shared spaces were reimagined when the new development team bought the property.
The units start with studios at over $600,000 for 436 square feet to two bedroom duplexes. Eight units have been staged for showings.
The rooftop garden, fitness center, and lounge area were updated to be modern and sleek, Boulan said, and it is all in the details.
“They may seem like minor upgrades, but they don’t seem minor to our purchasers,” Boulan said. “We’re always searching for ways to make each building unique.”
The rooftop garden is a particularly special perk, according to Boulan, as the buildings in the immediate proximity are zoned to be rather low in height. “The views are not inhibited in the long run,” she said.
