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NEW YORK | Walker Tower (212 W. 18th St) | FT | 23 FLOORS

We haven't discussed this much here, but here it is...

http://www.walker-tower.com/home.html

INTRODUCING: WALKER TOWER

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http://corenyc.com/blog/wp-content/u...re_walker1.jpg

November 14th, 2011 posted by CORE

Quote:

Here’s the first glimpse inside Walker Tower, the transformation of 212 West 18th Street into a collection of 53 expansive residences set within a pre-war building designed by the trailblazing architect Ralph Walker. Walker created iconic Art Deco landmarks such as the Barclay-Vesey Building and One Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. He was hailed as the “architect of the century” in the New York Times, and Frank Lloyd Wright referred to him as “the only other honest American architect.” Now his 18th Street high-rise is being both painstakingly restored and thoroughly modernized to become one of the most extravagant and sought-after residences in New York City. Walker Tower is being developed by JDS Development and Property Markets Group.

Walker Tower could not be built today, nor could it ever be built again. Constructed in 1929 for the New York Telephone Company, the Art Deco skyscraper’s lavish entryways, ornate detailing and sweeping interior spaces are unheard of in today’s construction practices.

Below is a look at some of Walker Tower’s original architectural detailing as well as a behind-the-scenes photo of the building’s transformation, which includes a penthouse expansion. From top to bottom, Walker Tower will offer breathtaking views of Manhattan’s past, present and future architecture.

http://corenyc.com/blog/wp-content/u...re_walker3.jpg

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/re...ref=realestate

Dial C for Condos

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Michael Stern, left, a developer, and Shaun Osher of the Core Group NYC at a Verizon building in Chelsea that is being converted into 53 luxury condos.

By C. J. HUGHES
March 8, 2012

Quote:

a 1929 tan-brick Art Deco high-rise at 212 West 18th Street in Chelsea, is being converted into luxury condominiums. The 53-unit project is called Walker Tower for its architect, Ralph Walker, who also designed several other phone company buildings.

The $200 million project is a venture of JDS Development and the Property Markets Group. The developers say they are sparing no expense in the furnishings and finishes. The 12- to 15-foot-high ceilings will be coffered. Radiant heat will course through French-oak herringbone floors. Washing machines and dryers won’t be stacked, as in many buildings, but will sit side by side, in individual laundry rooms.

In some ways, Walker Tower’s most impressive feat might be even getting built at all. Mr. Stern, who first toured it on Sept. 15, 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed, taking down much of the economy with it, had to get permission to take it over from the state’s Public Service Commission, because it housed a telecommunications company. That extra layer of approval meant that it took a relatively long time to close the deal, Mr. Stern said. Further, Verizon didn’t want to concede the whole building, so it was divided into two condominiums. Verizon owns Floors 2 through 7, which contain offices for about a dozen employees who will come to work through a West 17th Street entryway. Mr. Stern owns the condo that encompasses Floors 8 through 23.

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http://www.observer.com/2012/03/can-...ornate-luxury/
Can You Afford Me Now: Converting an Old Telephone Tower Into Ornate Luxury

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By Michael Ewing 3/09

Quote:

The 23-story pre-war Art Deco building at 212 West 18th Street in Chelsea, more commonly known as Walker Tower, was partially sold off by Verizon. Verizon will remain as a tenant, but only for floors 2 through 7. Floors 8 through 23 will be turned into 53 condominium units.

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/0...itors.php#more

'Ralph Walker: Architect of the Century' Opens to Visitors

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March 28, 2012
by Dave Hogarty

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With plans to charge $10K a square foot for penthouse space, it's never a bad idea to dust off and polish the starchitect reputation of a building's designer well before the condo reincarnation is ready for occupancy. So for the next three months there will be a public exhibition in the ground floor public areas of the Walker Tower at 212 West 18th Street showing off the work of Art Deco architect Ralph Walker, who also built the tower at 1 Wall Street and the Barclay-Vesey Building.

The crowd last night included architects, brokers, history buffs (Walker's biographer and architectural historian Kathryn E. Holliday was on hand to sign her book), and PR folk. The ground floor is still very much raw construction space, and the party's bars were placed in the building's elevators in part to deter curious guests from trying to get upstairs. The Ralph Walker exhibit is free, but by appointment only. The building should be completed within 12-16 months.

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For people so enamored with the building and its original architect, these developers aren't shying away from major modifications to the original design.

It looks like it'll be a remodel that's quite respectable toward the original design, and it takes a vacant, vacuous and inhospitable structure and returns it to being a gem. I can't complain :tup:

Based on the model, they bungled or value engineered out the signature detail of this building, the ornate masonry crown on the tower. Not good.

Looking at the building model,the roof portion below and to the right of the tower contained the HVAC cooling tower which will apparently be enclosed in the area replacing the original tower with the stone work. This equipment needs to be open to ventilation. A closed tank tower would not allow this.

It's commendable the way the designer has dealt with this necessary function keeping the general building lines with minimal sacrifice.

i must say that this is one very exciting renovation/addition project currently going on...for many years i would walk past this great building and wonder how sad it looked there past its former glory...always wondered why not turn it into condos or residential..... :)

i'm really happy someone had the insight to do this!!

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IMG_3811 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_3812 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_3814 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_3815 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmwayman (Post 5646242)

Unless you have inside information, I don't know how you can tell whether they moved the HVAC to the parapet portion or kept it on the main building (which is more logical). Just going by the model, neither seems to contain living space at the top. I agree they did a decent job on the main building. But the parapet's style is a dramatic departure from the original. That deco top was the crowning detail of this building. Maybe the architects offered a design that was more in line with Walker's original, even an outline would do, instead of a flat box with spires and fins.

With all the outcry over demolitions, I will say that it's nice the building is being put to use. I imagine if it were demolished, the outcry would be huge here.

This building will look very nice with the new additions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 5645688)

For people so enamored with the building and its original architect, these developers aren't shying away from major modifications to the original design.

Yeah, what the hell?

TODAY april 25, 2012

walked by the site again today...

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IMG_4083 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_4085 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_4087 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_4089 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

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IMG_4091 copy by Ceva321, on Flickr

the end.....by the way I HATE that ugly brick building on 6th ave (# 140 Chadwin House).....what an eyesore!!! :slob:

This is great except for getting rid of the ornate brick work at the top. It's a shame to lose that. Otherwise, pretty cool.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...ZcxjOZAijCNR4N

Walker this way
New construction slowly comes out of its shell — with prices reaching for the sky

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By MAX GROSS
April 26, 2012

Quote:

Good luck getting Core CEO Shaun Osher to say whether he’s gotten any offers yet on the $50 million penthouse at Chelsea’s Walker Tower. The building — a 53-unit 1929 Art Deco colossus designed by Ralph Walker, which is being converted into condos with prices expected to average around $3,000 per square foot — still has an amendment pending with the state Attorney General’s Office and isn’t expecting to start sales until June. So things are hush-hush until then. “I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you,” Osher, who will handle sales for Walker Tower, says with a smile.

And, yet, the smile seems to say a lot. No doubt, many developers (like JDS Developers and Property Markets Group, which are building Walker Tower) whose timing is good enough — or who are lucky enough — to have buildings rising over the next year or so, are grinning, too. “For smart developers,” says broker Shlomi Reuveni, executive vice president of Brown Harris Stevens Select, “the writing is on the wall.”

LOVE the shorter modern glass tower in the foreground.

That's One Jackson Square...it's one of my favorite new buildings in the city :D

One of the penthouses at Walker Tower is currently priced at $94 million.

Get out your checkbooks, billionaires...