HL23
515-517 West 23rd Street
Architect: Neil Denari
Year built: 2008-2009

NEW YORK—HL23, the 14 story co-op tower on West 23rd Street and 10th Avenue is thoroughly modern in design and technology, yet its lithe and muscular form seems to hearken back to less digital times when steel structures like the old High Line railway it now hovers over were labored over by men in overhauls.

It is, like so much of the much-touted recent Chelsea development, part and parcel of the new and sleek High Line Park. As the old elevated railway continues its trek north with the recently opened section two, it continues to be a huge success in community planning. HL23 was designed to work with, and in spite of, its close proximity to the 23rd Street spur in the park.

HL23 has swagger. It throws its chest out over 23rd Street, tapering outward as it rises up and sloping back at its peak as if tilting its head back in proud acknowledgement of architectural accomplishment. It defies the narrow footprint on which it is built and expands outward, flexing muscles of steel and glass in an elegant and unique silhouette that cantilevers above the throng of High Line visitors, providing them a 156-foot-tall sculptural form to ponder as they meander. It is a fitting addition to the Chelsea gallery district.

Architect Neal Denari and developer Alf Naman achieved the accomplishment together with New York based architect Thomas Juul-Hansen who designed the interiors. Developers worked with the city on modifications to seven different zoning requirements as they negotiated the tricky lot next to the High Line. HL23 is Denari’s first freestanding building. He is the author of two books on architecture and a professor of architecture at UCLA.

Construction on the building, which began in early 2008, was initially scheduled to be complete in the spring of 2009. According to Brown Harris Stevens sales rep Erin Aries, who is managing contracts on the project, “There were certain factors which delayed the completion; however we are on schedule for completion this summer/early fall and are fulfilling all the plans to make this one of the most exceptional properties in New York.”

Aries says that currently three units have sold (units 4, 5 and 12) and are currently negotiating two other offers.

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