Ground is to be broken by next week at the former Barneys parking lot to make way for pricey condos and retail space.
The project at Seventh Avenue and 17th Street is a joint venture between the development division of The Corcoran Group real estate brokers and Mark Blau, a developer.
The land — which totals more than 17,000 square feet at 201 W. 17th St. — is the future site of a 12-story, 90,000 square-foot condominium residential building with approximately 20,000 square feet of street-level retail space.
“We’re still putting the final plans together, and we may be combining some of the units. So I’d have to say it’s approximately 40 units,” said Pamela Liebman, president of corporate marketing for the Corcoran Group.
The units will retail for somewhere between $600,000 and $4 million.
“We haven’t even started selling it. In fact, we don’t yet have an offering plan.”
Construction should be completed by summer 2001.
The former Barneys lot is just one of several parking lots in the Chelsea area sold for development purposes in recent months.
Due to changes in zoning laws last September, Chelsea open air parking facilities are becoming as scarce as tables at Pastis.
Other parking lot projects in the area include a proposed 17-floor, 358-unit rental building on West 26th Street and another at 112-120 W. 21st St.
The move of apparel factories out of the area has made it necessary for the city to change its regulations, which were first enacted in 1916.
In recent years, non-apparel manufacturing businesses and residences have quietly moved to the district, mostly because the laws haven’t been strictly enforced and there has been no strong opposition.
But now, changes in the law have opened the flood gates for development.
“Ever since zoning has changed in most of the area’s neighborhoods from manufacturing to residential use, the area has become very hot,” said one Chelsea realtor.