Real Estate
Starchitect Hadid’s $50M penthouse for sale
BY MARTHA WILKIE
Remember when far West Chelsea
was mostly warehouses
and nightclubs, or as The New
York Times put it in 1987, “the largely
uninhabited far west”?
Today it’s transformed, thanks to an
infl ux of galleries, which was followed
later by an explosion of commercial
and residential development — much
of it spurred by the success of the High
Line.
One of the most expensive and architecturally
signifi cant (the two decidedly
don’t always go together) homes
now for sale is the penthouse at 520
W. 28th St., a new residential building
by famed architect Zaha Hadid.
When I studied architectural history
in college, Zaha Hadid was a rock star.
Her designs swooped and fl ew in strikingly
original, gravity-defying ways.
Hadid, who was born in Iraq, trained
at the Architectural Association in
London. She was the fi rst woman and
fi rst Muslim to win the prestigious
Pritzker Prize (along with many other
prizes and honors) and became an international
“starchitect.”
Most of her work isn’t residential,
but rather large-scale major buildings
— art museums, an opera house, an
aquatics center for the 2012 Olympics
in London.
The building at 520 W. 28th St. was
Hadid’s fi rst, and sadly last, in New
York City. She died during its construction,
of a heart attack.
The 11-story building with 39 units
has all the modern amenities, including
a 75-foot lap pool, IMAX screening
room and helpful robots, which
(theoretically) will fetch your summer
clothes from storage or arrange for a
car.
Julie Lasky beautifully described
the design in The New York Times in
2018:
“Achieving the liquid effect of her
architecture — the rounded corners
and smooth, sculptured surfaces —
takes skill and a pile of money. The
bendy 520 West 28th Street facade
was trimmed in 954 pieces of handcut
and hand-ground stainless steel.
A lobby mural consists of elephantine
slabs of marble carved with a water
jet.”
Is one of the most ridiculously expensive
apartments in the city actually
that amazing?
Penthouse 37 is spread out over three
levels, on 6,853 square feet, linked by
a spectacular swirling staircase. It has
fi ve bedrooms, 6.5 baths, and a 2,218-
square-foot terrace with incredible
views. The night I was there, it had
just snowed, and the High Line was a
The penthouse at Zaha Hadid’s 520 W. 28th St., next to the High Line, is spread over three levels.
The living room in the Zaha Hadid penthouse apartment sits on the
unit’s second level. The staircase at left winds up to the rooftop and
also down to a lower floor.
magical, ghostly, pure white wonderland.
I loved the bathroom with its dramatic,
huge white bathtub. And sitting
in the big leather chair in the offi ce
made me feel like a titan of the business
world. The living room was glamorous
and I’d love to attend a fabulous
party there.
But in the end, would I want to live
there? No. I admire the design without
fi nding it warm and welcoming or
homey — which is what you want in a
home. Or at least, I do. Actually I can’t
really imagine who would live there.
Perhaps a rock star or foreign oligarch
would use it as a pied-à-terre?
With fi ve bedrooms, you’d think
it’d be good for a family with lots of
kids and dogs. But it’s hard to imagine
spoiling that sleek, perfect look with
the detritus of family life. Apartments
like these seem to exist on a different
plane, not for us mortals.
But if you’re interested in Penthouse
37 at 520 W. 28th St. — or just interested
in looking — visit
https://www.corcoran.com/nycreal
IMAGES COURTESY CORCORAN REALTY
estate/for-sale/chelsea-hudsonyards
/520-west-28th- st reet-aptph37/
5590272 .
So what’s in West Chelsea for a bit
less than $50 million?
In the glorious London Terrace Towers,
which has been a Chelsea stalwart
since 1929, here’s a nice studio co-op
with a completely separate bedroom
alcove for $565,000. I’d rather swim
with my neighbors in an Olympic-size
pool than alone in a lap pool.
(https://www.elliman.com/newyork
city/465-west-23-street-12kmanhattan
ukvewlj)
At 460 W. 23rd St., here’s a onebedroom,
one-bath in the Chelsea Historic
District with a gorgeous patio,
wood-burning fi replace, and high-tech
Google Home controls for $750,000.
( h t t p s : / / w w w. c omp a s s .
c om/ l i s t i n g / 4 6 0 -we s t -2 3 r d -
s t r e e t -u n i t -br -ma n hat t a n -ny-
10011/85447993662115697/)
For rentals, a new building at 507
W. 28th St. offers a studio at $3,675
per month with use of a roof deck,
pool, fi tness room, recreation room
and children’s play area. (https://
www.507westchelsea.com)
And if you’re in need of a lovely
furnished house in Chelsea, check out
this wonderful kitchen in a four-story
1901 row house with a 400-squarefoot
garden for $22,000 a month.
(https://www.corcoran.com/nycreal
estate/for-rent/chelsea-hudsonyards/
351-west-30th-street/5563946)
26 January 3, 2019 TVG Schneps Media
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