Village Blueprints – Building the Neighborhood’s Future

New West Village Mansions on Charles Lane Continue a Trend

By Brian J Pape, AIA

Village View has covered new developments in the West Village for years. It may have seemed to start out as a one-off now and then, mainly replacing or restructuring existing townhouses or industrial lofts. The West Village has many historic, century-old brick townhouses and warehouses, and has one of the larger historic districts in the city. Now, larger buildings or parcels are getting the mansion treatment, especially properties located outside of the historic districts, with fewer restrictions on development.

Case in point: numbers 7 and 11 on Charles Lane will soon be developed by Aurora Capital Associates. The properties are just west of the West Village Houses, a mid-century Mitchell-Lama affordable housing project. The small brick warehouses and garages that sat on Charles Lane were demolished at least two years ago, leaving empty lots. At the time, rumor had it that these were William Gottlieb properties, who frequently collaborated with Aurora for their development expertise. This large lot was surrounded by other mid-block, mid-rise luxury multi-family developments, like 150 Charles and the Meier glass buildings on Perry Street. Residents have often complained at community board meetings that multi-family buildings were being transformed to single-family, lowering the density and making remaining homes more expensive. But why would a developer choose to give up the chance to build a multi-unit luxury block?

We may not get the full reasoning that went into the decision, but perhaps building single-family homes is simpler and easier than an apartment block. Seven and 11 Charles Lane are respectively 13,772 square feet and 13,048 square feet in floor area, and are expected to come on the market for $67 million and $65 million. That’s a pretty quick return on investment for developers.

Charles Lane is a narrow cobblestone alleyway between Perry Street and Charles Street. High-profile buyers who want privacy for coming and going will get private rear entrances and possible parking on Charles Lane, and a grand formal entry on Perry. The renderings don’t define the parking arrangements.

Each home will be 40 feet wide and six stories in height, nearly doubling the floor area of a typical Manhattan townhouse. Seven Charles is planned for five bedrooms, six bathrooms and four powder rooms, while 11 Charles is to have four bedrooms, eight bathrooms and three powder rooms. Square footage accounts for some of the $2 million price difference between the two listings, but the property at 7 Charles is also designed with an indoor pool in the basement, and will feature a structural glass ceiling for a brighter than normal basement. The homes will have double-height main living spaces of 20-foot ceilings.

The homes are not yet under construction, allowing for buyer requests for modifications. The current designs have a central courtyard to provide natural light inside while protecting privacy, and roof deck views of Manhattan. Some lot-line windows on the newer apartment building to the west may be obstructed.

Marc Turkel, founding partner of the project’s architectural firm Leroy Street Studio (LSS), designed the properties with privacy as a priority. Founded in 1995 at a Leroy Street location, the studio has grown and relocated just below Grand Street, staying close to its roots. In a 2025 article by Rebecca Bratburd for Mansion Global magazine, renderings by The Boundary help to visualize the new project that is described in some detail.

“The courtyards are wonderful, light-filled spaces that make the place feel both open and private,” Turkel said about similar properties he has designed in the past. “It’s one of the ways we can take a very large home and unify it and make everybody feel like they’re connected to each other even though they’re in separate spaces. They all cohere around the central courtyard.”

Turkel described using handmade Danish brick previously employed in other West Village projects by his firm, combined with bronze window systems and paneling. He said, “It’s the kind of thing that when it works well, it’s quiet and respectful on the street, and when you come inside, you discover this whole world within…This idea of privacy is the highest form of luxury. This building is meant to start out by saying it’s a familiar neighbor. Something that you can feel is respectful and understands the rules, then you go inside and you’re really surprised at what you couldn’t imagine.”