Condominium · 2013
500 West 21st Street
500 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10011
Buildings·Condominium

500 West 21st Street

500 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10011

At a glance
Year built
2013
Type
Condominium
Landmark
No

500 West 21st Street is a boutique condominium designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, completed in 2013, set directly beside the High Line in the heart of West Chelsea's gallery district. The location is the building's foundation: it sits among the contemporary art galleries, the elevated park, and the architect-designed condominiums that have made West Chelsea one of New York's most design-conscious neighborhoods. KPF's design responds directly to its setting — a contemporary masonry-and-glass building whose proportions and paned windows were composed to complement the High Line's industrial trestle rather than overpower it.

At just 32 residences across eight stories, the building is deliberately intimate, with the loft-like layouts and generous proportions that West Chelsea buyers expect. The interior design brings a comfortable, industrial-leaning aesthetic — limestone, oil-rubbed bronze, open floor plates — that suits the gallery-district context. From its upper floors, the building looks out over the High Line, the historic General Theological Seminary, and the Manhattan skyline.

For buyers, 500 West 21st offers a KPF-designed, full-service boutique condominium beside the High Line — design pedigree, loft proportions, and ownership flexibility in one of the city's most coveted contemporary neighborhoods.

Architecture and unit composition

Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the building to sit comfortably alongside the High Line, mirroring the rhythm of the trestle while introducing its own contemporary materials and paned fenestration. The result is an eight-story building that reads as carefully composed rather than monumental — appropriate to a block where architecture is part of the neighborhood's identity.

The 32 residences are spacious and loft-like, with open layouts crafted by a West Chelsea-based interior designer using materials such as limestone and oil-rubbed bronze. With roughly 2,560 square feet of building area per unit, the homes run large — full-floor and near-full-floor layouts are typical at this scale and footprint. Upper-floor residences command the building's best assets: open outlooks over the High Line, the seminary's gardens, and the skyline beyond. The contemporary ceiling heights and floor-to-ceiling glazing of new construction give the apartments their light and volume.

Building operations

500 West 21st runs as a full-service boutique condominium with an amenity package deep for its size: a 24-hour concierge, a fitness center, a club room, a children's playroom, on-site parking, a live-in resident manager, cold storage for deliveries, and private storage for each residence. Common charges reflect that staffing and the amenity roster; real estate taxes are billed per unit in the standard condominium structure.

The condominium format gives buyers the flexibility West Chelsea expects. Financing is flexible, purchases clear through a right-of-first-refusal rather than a board interview, and pied-à-terre, trust, LLC, and investment ownership are customary — well suited to the design-minded, international, and part-time-resident buyers the gallery district attracts. Subletting and pet specifics follow the condominium's governing documents and are confirmed through the managing agent.

Local Law 97

Carbon-penalty exposure
🟢
Strong — under cap in both periods
2024–2029 annual penalty
$0 (under cap)
2030–2034 annual penalty
$0 (under cap)
Per unit / month range
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →

Facade safety — Local Law 11

Local Law 11 / FISP · last inspection 2020–25
Safe
What this means for you

The facade passed its last inspection with no required repairs — nothing to budget for here, and no facade assessment on the horizon for roughly five years.

Inspection history
2020–25
Safe
2025–30
Due
Next report due
by Feb 2029
The three grades, in buyer terms
SafeGood for ~5 years — no facade assessment on the horizon.
SWARMPSafe now, repairs due on a deadline — budget for the work or a possible assessment.
UnsafeActive hazard: sidewalk shed and repairs now. Expect disruption and an assessment.

QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.

See the full facade history →

Recent sales

With only 32 residences, turnover at 500 West 21st is light — a handful of resales in a typical year. Pricing reflects the building's KPF design, the High Line frontage, the loft proportions, floor level, and outlook, with upper-floor homes over the park and seminary commanding a premium. Comparable analysis belongs against West Chelsea's other architect-designed condominiums along the High Line rather than against generic stock — design and the High Line position are themselves value drivers. The building's auto-generated sales record reflects recorded transfers as they post; for a read on a specific line, a building-specific valuation is the right tool.

What to know if you’re buying

The case for buying here is design and the High Line in condominium form. You are buying a Kohn Pedersen Fox building beside the elevated park, with loft-scale residences, a full amenity suite including on-site parking, and the ownership flexibility of a condominium, in the most design-conscious corner of Chelsea. The trade-offs are scale and view variability: this is an eight-story boutique building, so outlook depends heavily on floor and exposure, and the homes are loft-oriented rather than traditional. The specific residence — its floor, its outlook over the High Line and seminary, its light — is what to evaluate closely. For the design-forward buyer who wants the gallery district, the park at the doorstep, and full-service condominium living, the building is an excellent match.

What to know if you’re selling

A resale at 500 West 21st markets on its architecture and its location: Kohn Pedersen Fox, the High Line frontage, the loft proportions, and the gallery-district setting are durable differentiators, and the on-site parking and full amenity package back them up. The condominium structure widens the buyer pool to design-minded, international, and pied-à-terre purchasers and delivers a faster closing through a right-of-first-refusal. Pricing belongs against West Chelsea's architect-designed condominium set, with floor level and outlook over the High Line driving the spread. Presentation should foreground the design, the light, and the park view. Marketing to the design-literate, flexibility-minded buyer the gallery district attracts is the path to a strong sale.

Comparable buildings

If you're evaluating 500 West 21st Street, these nearby West Chelsea buildings make a useful comparison set:

The Roebling Team at 500 West 21st Street

The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in West Chelsea and the High Line condominium market — architect-designed buildings where design, the park, and ownership flexibility drive value. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating 500 West 21st deserve building-specific intelligence: the KPF design, the amenity program, the condominium structure, and where a given residence sits against the gallery-district market.

If you're considering a purchase or sale at 500 West 21st Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.

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Corey Cohen, Principal · The Roebling Team at Compass
646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com