Rendering of the Converted Ink-press building as well as 6-story all-glass tower

Overview

Loft 25 is a 79 unit 9-story building located on West 25th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. The development is made up of a current mid-block building which was a former ink-press warehouse along with a new all-glass six-story tower, which will house the lobby. The developer group is RAL, which is working in conjunction with Stribling Marketing in the sales of the apartments. RAL has had several developments in New York City, most notably Tower 270 which was converted in 2001 but also includes in its inventory the current somewhat controversial One Brooklyn Bridge Park. This developer is known for choosing buildings with “good bones” and Loft 25 is no exception. If we disregard the portion of the development still being built, it is apparent that Loft 25 lives up to its mantra, “LIVE TALL,” mostly due to converted portion having a minimum ceiling height of 12 feet and on some floors 15 feet. That being said, the developer has undercut his own cost but covering up the concrete beamed ceilings which had aesthetic issues, allowing for an individual to heighten the ceiling by a few feet in certain parts of the building. However, the all-glass tower has your typical rental building 8 foot tall ceilings, perhaps appealing to a first time buyer. The floor-plans seem innovative for a modern buyer, offering options like a “Home-office” with studio space, clearly designed for the extra room to be a bedroom. In fact they were one of the last buildings in which the city allowed to have closets built in the “home-office.” The appeal of the building seems to be geared towards a first time buyer or someone looking to upgrade their former Chelsea home, think of the Chelsea Mercantile without the maze of corridors and hundreds of neighbors. (more…)