Inside The Cortland: River-View Manhattan Condos by Robert A.M. Stern

Laura Euler, Dirt

An interesting new building in Manhattan’s art gallery-filled West Chelsea is getting ready to start sales. Just a three-minute walk from the High Line and across the West Side Highway from the Chelsea Piers complex, the Cortland has been designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects with interior appointments handled by the Seattle-based architecture studio Olson Kundig.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects is internationally renowned for their residential towers that exude a modern classicism, and the massing of this building will certainly bring some classical elegance to the formerly industrial Chelsea waterfront. The imposing façade features a mix of limestone, brick and metal, and over a million hand-made and hand-laid bricks give the building a grounded, historic feel. Archetypal traditional elements such as bay windows, rusticated detailing on the lower floors, and setbacks of higher floors are also in evidence. (Rustication has been used since Roman days to give visual weight to lower parts of a building. Basically, it’s rough-cut — rustic — stonework.)

There will be 144 luxury condo units in the 23-story building. Most of the apartments will be studios to three-bedrooms, and while prices haven’t been officially released, those units are rumored to carry price tags between $2 million and $9 million. The best apartments will have private terraces overlooking the Hudson River, and the top three stories will contain spacious five-bedroom penthouses.

Olson Kundig’s first residential project in New York City, the interiors will be embued with a spare, refined west coast aesthetic, emphasizing craft and function, while natural materials are emphasized to create interiors that are sophisticated, refined and comfortable.

As always with new buildings, the amenities are a sweet part of the package and those at the Cortland will not likely disappoint perk seeking potential buyers. In addition to a private motor court and an attended lobby, there’s a swimming pool, hot tub and ice plunge, a fitness center and locker room, a yoga studio, a golf simulator and sport courts. There’s also a pet spa, a children’s playroom, an event lounge, music room and screening rooms, and a common roof terrace. It seems there will hardly be a need to ever leave the building!

Interested? Related Sales LLC and CORE are the exclusive co-sales and marketing agents for the project.

A slender private driveway passes under a rusticated limestone arch…

…and leads to a paparazzi-proof motor court.

There’s a second, pedestrian entrance on the building’s West 23rd Street side.

It’s location on the West Side Highway means there are spectacular views of the New Jersey skyline across the Hudson River.

The building’s attended lobby showcases twisty, biomorphic light fixtures and a massive fireplace.

A living room on the 6th floor has ship-like river views.

A kitchen and living room on the 9th floor is sleekly appointed with premium materials and designer appliances.

A bedroom on the 10th floor boasts a chunky marble fireplace.

A glistening view of the river is reflected in the mirrors behind the vanity in a marble-swaddled bathroom on the 18th floor.