Away from the subway and close to the morgue, lower Manhattan's far east side is filled with overlooked gems and unhyped blocks that could leave even the most blasé Knickerbocker confused. Over on East 18th Street, just west of First Avenue, three landmarked Italianate-style houses are among the earliest surviving structures in the neighborhood. Built in 1853 by descendants of the autocratic one-legged governor Peter Stuyvesant on his once rambling farm (the Great Bouwerie!), three brick-faced homes tease a taste of New Orleans with their low stature, deep front yards, and graceful ironwork fronting shallow porches.
These landmarked 1850s rowhouses at 326-330 East 18th Street were built by descendents of Peter Stuyvesant and are among the oldest in the area
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Juxtaposing this antebellum charm, across idyllic First Avenue, is the formidable 110-building Stuyvesant Tower-Peter Cooper Village, sporting its signature aesthetic of mid-20th-century monotony. Despite the visual severity, its altruistic values endure. Conceived as a community for returning veterans of World War II, the 11,250-unit complex remains a national park to the threatened species, the middle-class New Yorker. Over the decades, the complex has birthed notable residents like Pulitzer Prize-winner Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes), New York Times opinion columnist David Brooks, and actor Paul Reiser.
In this bewildering period of the 21st century, a new upscale condo building is angling to negotiate the contradictory facets of New York life, which fewer of us can afford to be baffled by. Not even the hospitals of "Bed Pan Alley," apparently, as Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center pursues closing its Gramercy campus this coming July. While many local conspiracists suspect this was a real estate land grab from the start, we definitely believe this is the case.
Evidently, Manhattan has been ignoring NIMBYs for centuries.
As CityRealty is a real estate company, we'll finally get to the point. A small huddle of walk-up buildings at 18th Street and First, which most recently held Beth Israel's Karpas Health Information Center has been cleared to make way for a ten-story condominium building with 50 units. The four-building site was sold to Minrav Development in early 2020, who made quick work reducing them to rubble.
Permits were filed and approved in 2021 to build a slick new condo building designed by SLCE Architects. Initial renderings depicted a contemporary structure channeling the timeless character of an office park. Newly published renderings by ARC Architecture + Design Studio convey a design that is as beautifully confused as the city itself. A concoction of Art Deco, Moderne, and Japanese traditional design (Shinto chic, neatly packaged into an arbitrary zoning envelope. Many units will have private outdoor space and corner homes will have curved exposures, giving the building a faint resemblance to The Normandy on the Upper West Side.
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305 First Avenue / 350 East 18th Street (Minrav/SLCE Architects)
We'll have to wait approximately two years to see if the design will live up to its renderings. We're happy the architects used some imagination and hope the bean counters and engineers don't devalue the design. A recent visit shows that like many stalled developer dreams around the city, the site remains an eyesore of graffiti, ripped ads, and litter-strewn curbs. However, recent permit activity shows foundation work will begin in the coming weeks.
The high-end residential market of Gramercy has been booming late as a flurry of contracts has been signed at 200E20th several blocks west, and 250 East 21st Street is essentially sold out. Aside from convenient access to medical facilities, nearby attractions include Stuyvesant Square Park, everything the East Village offers, and a wonderful fountain and park at the center of Stuyvesant Town. The First Avenue station of the L train is a few blocks south, several crosstown and uptown bus routes are nearby, and a new ferry landing is located at East 20th Street and the East River.
Nearby New Development Listings
250 East 21st Street (formerly Edison Gramercy), #10B
$5,995,000
Gramercy Park | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths | 2,468 ft2
250 East 21st Street, #10B (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
200E20th, #10C (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
Coda Condominium, #8F (Corcoran Group)
The Tower at Gramercy Square, #12C
$6,495,000
Gramercy Park | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 5 Baths | 2,539 ft2
The Tower at Gramercy Square, #12C (Sothebys International Realty)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
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