Village Blueprints – Building the Neighborhood’s Future
140 Jane and Moribund Projects See New Life Signs
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP
It takes deep pockets to develop new properties in NYC. Just ask the several firms that started new developments in recent years. Project construction begins with demolition of any site impediments, like old buildings or underground equipment or utilities. Sometimes, a hole in the ground remains for years due to lack of funds, or more progress is made before construction is halted.
We have witnessed several of these paused projects on the far west side of Manhattan.
140 Jane Street is the site of an 11-story residential building designed for the West Street corner. This new rendering view is looking southeast from the Hudson River Park at Jane Street. Credit: LSS.
Back in September of 2021, Matthew Abreu of Aurora Capital Associates filed for permits as the owner of what was then labeled as 134 Jane Street, according to YIMBY website. They employed BKSK Architects with Leroy Street Studio as the design architect for the 120-foot-tall, 105,804 square foot structure. The site is at the tangled convergence of 10th Avenue, Lincoln Highway, and West Street. This in the only area where West Street is a local-only street in front of the Jane Hotel. By the time construction started on the 15 condominium unit building, it had been re-branded as 140 Jane. But then the excavation work seemed to stop cold with partially completed foundation walls and bracing.
New design renderings depict a base of wide arches framing the retail frontage and entrance to a motor court. The bulk of the exterior is composed of light-gray stone framing an expansive grid of floor-to-ceiling windows, and the main northern elevation along Jane Street incorporates numerous angled surfaces, adding depth to the design. A setback at the eighth floor is shown topped with a landscaped terrace. Another terrace is visible atop the roof parapet surrounding a tall mechanical bulkhead clad in the same material as the rest of the façade. The site is expected to be completed in 2026.
Erected in 2023, this temporary mock-up room for the residential building at 140 Jane Street is on an empty lot on the West Street corner, allowing testing for thermal and moisture performance of the materials assembly. It also gives us a preview of a part of the exterior appearance. This view is looking east from the Hudson River Park at West 12th Street. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.
Foundation work has picked up at 140 Jane Street, according to YIMBY. Below-grade work has gradually resumed recently, after excavation and pilings were stopped at the site in 2024. Banks of yellow cylindrical struts have been in place between the foundation walls to brace the perimeter construction. Note the backhoe digging out between the struts, still in place despite concrete foundation walls poured in 2023. This view is looking east from West Street. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.
Despite the slow progress, the developer announced that already one-third of the units are sold. Penthouse 10 is a five bedroom, six bath, 5,511 square foot unit marketed at $41 million. Unit 2N has four bedrooms and 4.5 baths and just went into contract for almost $2o million.
Construction has resumed at 550 West 21st Street, according to YIMBY. Above-grade work has continued recently, after construction was stopped at the site in 2023. Grade-level floors have been in place between the foundation walls to brace the perimeter construction poured. This view is looking east from West Street. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.
According to the Real Deal, the developer Legion Investment Group acquired the stalled property at 550 West 21st Street for $87 million last year and can build a mixed-use project measuring up to 172,000 square feet, hoping to add another 11,000 square feet to the scope in exchange for a $7.8 million donation to the West Chelsea Affordable Housing Fund. The structure will yield 75 condominiums.
Casco Development had acquired the property for $50 million in 2014 and planned to construct a nearly 200,000 square foot building with a projected $539 million sellout. They completed the ground floor slab for a planned 20-story condominium building, but the project went into bankruptcy.
The nearly 0.5-acre project site is located at the corner of West Street and the Hudson River Greenway. According to YIMBY and site postings, anticipated completion is scheduled for July 2027. An architect has yet to be announced.
This 2021 view of One High Line is looking west from The High Line Park. It was stalled in a partially-complete state for many months when the developer went bankrupt. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.
And as another example of stalled projects along West Street, exterior work resumed at 76 11th Avenue in Chelsea in 2023, as The Witkoff Group purchased the property for $900 million at a foreclosure sale, and partnered with Access Industries and Monroe Capital to complete the stalled project. Steve Witkoff renamed the 26-story and 36-story mixed-use towers as One High Line.
Ziel Feldman and Nir Meir of HFZ Capital Group acquired the full-block site between 17th and 18th Street, and 10th and 11th Avenue for $870 million from Edison Properties in May 2015, one of the highest prices ever paid in Manhattan for a development site. With 800,000 square feet of air rights, it worked out to over $1,100 per buildable square foot. HFZ expected the development to cost over $1.9 billion ($1,700 per square foot). It was formerly known as The XI. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with Woods Bagot as architect of record, the 900,000 square foot complex yields 236 condominium units, 137 hotel rooms, 85,000 square feet of retail space, and a public plaza. Construction for the project began in September 2016 with pilings driven for the foundations of the towers. Construction halted in 2021 due to foreclosure.
