Demolition Done at MAG Partners’ Mixed-Income Multifamily Site in Chelsea

The demolition phase is now finished at 335 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan, where a new seven-story residential building is planned. 

This project’s players: COOKFOX has designed this 200,000-square-foot structure, being developed by MAG Partners. Titan Industrial SVC Corp handled the demolition, and Urban Atelier Group is overseeing construction.

What the upcoming building entails: The new development is set to have 188 residential units, with 30 percent designated for affordable housing through the Affordable NY Program. Additionally, a Lidl grocery store spanning 23,000 square feet will be situated on the first floor. 

The new look and aesthetics: The design for 335 Eighth Avenue showcases a cohesive red brick facade adorned with a grid of floor-to-ceiling windows. Stepped setbacks are featured on the upper levels, accompanied by landscaped terraces. Mechanical bulkheads crown the superstructure, and the first floor will present large windows for the retail section.

The star of the show: Regarding the Lidl supermarket, it will offer various amenities like a bakery, fresh produce, floral shop, meat and seafood market, and other everyday essentials. This store marks Lidl’s second location in Manhattan, the first being in Harlem. Lidl is committed to collaborating with Hire NYC to provide job opportunities for local residents, offering comprehensive benefits like health care to both full- and part-time employees.

Location, location, location: Situated near the 23rd Street station, the property enjoys easy access to the C and E trains. The expected completion for 335 Eighth Avenue is set for sometime in 2026.

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Work begins on 188-unit, mixed-income Chelsea building designed by COOKFOX

Rendering courtesy of MAG Partners

Work has begun on a 188-unit residential project in Chelsea. MAG Partners and affordable housing cooperative Penn South on Tuesday broke ground on a seven-story residential building at 335 Eighth Avenue. Developed under the Affordable NY Program, the building will set aside 30 percent of units for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. The development, situated on the corner of West 26th Street and 8th Avenue, will contain ground-floor commercial space, including a 23,000-square-foot Lidl grocery store.

Designed by COOKFOX Architects, the building will feature a sustainable passive-house design that will match the “neighborhood context,” with the same red-brick exterior seen in the Penn South towers of the surrounding development.

“As one of the most ambitious new high-performance developments in the city, 335 Eighth Avenue will continue the legacy of Penn South, as a community of housing innovation,” Rick Cook, founding partner of COOKFOX, said. “With passive-house design, vibrant planted courtyards, terraces and rooftops, and healthy materials, we will remake the best ideals of urban living for a climate resilient future.”

Penn South, also known as Mutual Redevelopment Houses, was established in 1962 as a limited-equity co-op, meaning the development receives tax abatements when below-market-rate homes are available to tenants. The sprawling residential complex spans between Eighth and Ninth Avenues and from West 23rd to 29th Streets, including 15 buildings, nearly 3,000 apartments, and roughly 5,000 residents.

In 2017, the New York City Council approved a resolution extending Penn South’s tax abatement until 2052, ensuring its continued affordability.

The former building on the site, home to a Gristedes supermarket, a McDonald’s, and a tennis center, required significant repair work that Penn South co-op could not afford. Additionally, the tenant leases were set to expire, which would result in a significant loss of revenue for the property and an increase in monthly maintenance fees for residents of the development.

To prevent this drop in revenue, Penn South and its 15-member Board of Directors searched for a partner to redevelop the site. The board received bids from seven developers before finally selecting MAG Partners, according to the Real Deal.

In June 2021, Penn South announced a plan to redevelop 335 Eighth Avenue alongside MAG, which selected COOKFOX Architects to design the new 200,000-square-foot residential tower.

According to a press release, the design will “bridge the historical character of Chelsea, mid-century visions of urban living and contemporary aspirations for a new building that supports sustainable and healthy living.”

“Penn South has been a model of urban affordability, quality of life, and community cohesion for over 60 years,” MaryAnne Gilmartin, founder of MAG Partners, said. “We’re proud to partner with them on this project that not only supports Penn South but brings significant new affordability and quality-of-life enhancements to the entire Chelsea community.”

The project is expected to be completed by fall 2025.

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Ruby Two-Building Development Wraps Up At 243 West 28th Street In Chelsea, Manhattan

Construction is finishing up on Ruby, a pair of 22-story residential buildings at 243 West 28th Street in Chelsea. Designed by COOKFOX and developed by MAG Partners, Atalaya, Safanad, and Qualitas, the 400,000-square-foot project will yield 480 rental units with 144 reserved for low- and middle-income households, as well as 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Douglas Elliman Development Marketing is in charge of leasing and marketing and Urban Atelier Group is the general contractor for the property, which is located on a through-block parcel between Seventh and Eighth Avenues with frontage on both West 28th and 29th Streets.

Façade installation was still ongoing on portions of the upper levels and on the interior-facing walls at the time of our last update in February. This has all since concluded, and the sidewalk scaffolding has been disassembled from both sides of the property. Some fencing and barricades still remain while work wraps up on the main entrance, but should be removed in the coming weeks.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

The canopy over the front doors is among the few outstanding finishing touches. The metal framework is in place and more of the paneling will soon clad the underside and edges.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

The following close-up shots show the details in the red brick façade, which was installed by King Contracting Group and spans some 100,000 square feet. The brick is arranged in various bond patterns, and features chamfered edges leading to the grid of recessed windows with decorative metal railings.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

New light fixtures have been installed across the ground floor as well.

Photo by Michael Young

Work has also concluded on the metal-paneled mechanical bulkheads and the rooftop landscaping.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Homes at Ruby come with in-unit washers and dryers, central AC, and name-brand kitchen appliances. Each unit has oversized windows and ceiling spans up to 15 feet, as well as contemporary fixtures such as smart home keyless entry, Nest thermostats, oak flooring, oversized closets, blackout and solar shades, and Energy Star-certified Bosch washers and dryers. Kitchens get a Bosch appliance package with custom cabinetry, satin chrome hardware, quartz countertops and full-height antique white herringbone tile backsplashes. The bathrooms are lined with polished chrome fixtures and mirrored cabinets with abundant storage, wall-hung oak vanity paired with a custom shelf, herringbone flooring, and walk-in showers with full-height herringbone tiled walls enveloped by seamless glass in select residences.

Amenities at Ruby include pet-friendly policies, a 24/7 attended lobby, a live-in superintendent, dog-washing station, media room, library, multiple indoor lounges, a two-story fitness center, children’s playroom, laundry room, bike storage, an outdoor second-floor courtyard, an outdoor rooftop swimming pool with an adjacent lounge, and an upper-level terrace on the southern building. The development is engineered to achieve LEED Silver certification.

The nearest subway from Ruby is the local 1 train at the 28th Street station to the east along Seventh Avenue. Also nearby is the 34th Street-Penn Station complex with access to the A, C, E, 1, 2, and 3 trains, Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, and Amtrak.

YIMBY expects the remaining work on the ground floor to be completed sometime later this summer.

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Elliott Investment Management Provides $196M Refi for Chelsea Multifamily Asset 

The loan refinances Ruby, a mixed-income luxury rental at 243 West 28th Street

MaryAnne Gilmartin’s MAG Partners has secured a $196 million refinancing loan for its 480-unit mixed-income luxury rental project in the heart of Manhattan’s West Chelsea neighborhood. 

The financing was provided by funds managed by Elliott Investment Management, which holds approximately $55.2 billion in assets under management, in a joint venture with an investment platform formed by Adi Chugh, CEO of Surya Capital Partners.

The refinancing retires an existing $173 million construction loan MAG Partners secured from Madison Realty Capital in October 2020, and comes as the luxury rental building — known as Ruby, and located at 243 West 28th Street — has achieved 40 percent leasing capacity less than four months after opening.  

“Our belief in this project and this city have been proven by the demand we are seeing for Ruby,” Gilmartin, founder and CEO of MAG Partners, said in a statement. “We are proud to have brought these beautiful homes to market through a remarkable time in New York City.”

Matthew Villetto, executive vice president, Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, handles leasing at the project. Viletto told Commercial Observer that both the leasing volume and rent performance at Ruby have been “unprecedented.”

He added that rents for the studios have entered the $5,000-per-month range, one-bedrooms are in the $7,000-per-month range, and that two-bedrooms have hovered between $10,000 and $15,000 per month since leasing began in late March. 

“It’s a testament to the strength of the New York City market and the flight to quality and the specific quality this building is offering,” Villetto said. “It’s just a really spectacular and unique proposition that the marketplace is responding very well to.”

The two-tower property also includes 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Building amenities include a rooftop pool, a private lobby garden, a fitness room, a club lounge, and a second-floor garden. Roughly 30 percent of the building’s 480 rental units are reserved for affordable housing.

This is the first New York City project for Gilmartin’s MAG Partners, which she founded in July 2020. MAG Partners has designed, built and operated more than 7 million square feet of office, residential and mixed-use projects, including more than 2,000 units of housing, for a total value in excess of $4.5 billion.

The West Chelsea project is a joint venture among MAG Partners, Safanad, Atalaya Capital Management and Qualitas. Safanad is a global holding company located in New York City and Dubai that has invested more than $10 billion in various real estate, education, health care and digital infrastructure projects since 2009. Atalaya Capital Management is a New York City-based alternative investment advisory firm with $5 billion in assets. Qualitas is a leading real estate investment firm in Australia that has a book valued at $8.5 billion. 

Ruby highlights yet another headline between MAG Partners and Safanad. The two firms formed a non-exclusive joint venture agreement in November 2020 to pursue New York City real estate projects together for ground-up development or active management. 

“We believe the success of the Ruby is indicative of the resiliency of the New York City multifamily market and demonstrates the strength of our partnership with MAG Partners,” Andrew Trickett, head of investments at Safanad, said in a statement. 

MAG Partners has its eyes fixed on more New York City developments. The firm recently began demolition for two more mixed-income residential projects: one at 335 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea and another at 300 East 50th Street near the United Nations. 

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Demolition Prep Underway At 335 Eighth Avenue In Chelsea, Manhattan

BY: MICHAEL YOUNG 8:00 AM ON JUNE 18, 2023

Demolition preparations are underway at 335 Eighth Avenue, the site of an upcoming seven-story residential building in Chelsea, Manhattan. Designed by COOKFOX and developed by MAG Partners, the 200,000-square-foot structure will yield 188 residential units with 30 percent dedicated to affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents under the Affordable NY Program, as well as a 23,000-square-foot Lidl grocery store on the ground floor. Titan Industrial SVC Corp is the demolition contractor and Urban Atelier Group is the general contractor for the property, which is located at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 26th Street within the Penn South affordable housing cooperative, officially known as Mutual Redevelopment Houses.

Recent photographs show sidewalk scaffolding set up around the perimeter of the current occupant of the site. Black netting should soon be assembled over the rest of the structure, and demolition will likely unfold quickly given the building’s modest low-rise scale.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

The main rendering depicts 335 Eighth Avenue clad in red brick with floor-to-ceiling windows and several stepped setbacks topped with landscaped terraces on the upper levels. A pair of short mechanical bulkheads cap the structure, and the ground floor will feature oversized windows for the retail frontage.

YIMBY last reported that the Lidl supermarket will feature a bakery, fresh produce, a floral shop, meat and seafood, and other everyday essentials. The store will be the company’s second location in Manhattan, following a Harlem market that opened in February 2022. Lidl is expected to work with Hire NYC to offer employment to residents in the local community and provide comprehensive benefits such as healthcare for all full- and part-time employees, regardless of hours worked per week.

The property is a short walk from the C and E trains at the 23rd Street station.

Demolition is anticipated to wrap up in the third quarter of 2023, and the new residential development and Lidl are expected to open in 2026.

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Baltimore Peninsula Team Celebrates Opening Of Roost Apartment Hotel

On Friday, Baltimore Peninsula’s development team celebrated the pending opening of Method Co.’s 81-unit Roost Apartment Hotel at the $5.5B development along the city’s waterfront.

The building at 2460 Terrapin Way, designed by architect Hord Coplan Macht explicitly for long-term stays, is slated to open July 1.

“Baltimore Peninsula is well on its way to becoming an active community open to and enjoyed by all,” MAG Partners CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin said in a statement. “We have new residents moving in every day, a robust program of on-site activities for the regional community to enjoy and now we have a relaxing, amenity-filled hotel for visitors to enjoy.”

The Roost Apartment Hotel concept bridges the gap between a boutique hotel experience and apartment living. The properties include features like a full-size kitchen, balcony and full-wall windows. Additionally, Roost properties incorporate amenities like a 24/7 concierge and fitness centers with Peloton bikes.

The Baltimore Peninsula location includes furnished units between one and three bedrooms. The property also provides 20K SF of indoor and outdoor amenity space, including an open-air pool. Aumen Asner Inc. and Method Studios, Method Co.’s in-house design studio, collaborated on the interior design.

Method Co. already operates Roost properties in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit and Tampa, Florida, and plans an additional location in Charleston, South Carolina.

Completing the Roost is part of what the development team calls Chapter 1B of building the 235-acre megaproject, including 1.1M SF of office, residential and retail.

The Roost will be the third residential building to open at Baltimore Peninsula, following Rye House and 250 Mission. Earlier this year, those properties started leasing their 416 apartments, including 89 affordable units.

The idea to bring the Roost concept to Baltimore Peninsula predates MAG Partners and MacFarlane Partners, which assumed the role of lead developers last year. Weller Development Partners, the project’s initial lead developer, pursued bringing the Roost concept to the development known at the time as Port Covington.

“ROOST Baltimore plays an integral role in the exciting future of Baltimore Peninsula and provides a critical foundation and unique flexibility in the hospitality and residential offerings,” Weller Development Partners President Marc Weller said in a statement. “It is wonderful to see Baltimore Peninsula come to life right before our very eyes, and ROOST is a catalyst for this continued momentum.”

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Rendering Revealed For 335 Eighth Avenue Redevelopment In Chelsea, Manhattan

Rendering of 335 8th Avenue. Courtesy of COOKFOX

MAG Partners is teaming up with affordable housing cooperative Penn South to redevelop 335 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan. The new seven-story mixed-use building will include ground-floor commercial space and 200 residential units with affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents. COOKFOX is designing the 200,000-square-foot structure.

“It is an honor to partner with Penn South and join their long legacy of community building in Chelsea,” said MaryAnne Gilmartin, founder and CEO of MAG Partners. “We are committed to building in a way that enhances this beautiful neighborhood and provides value to the coop’s long-term sustainability.”

Located on the corner of West 26th Street and Eighth Avenue, the building currently houses a Gristedes grocery store, a community tennis club, a McDonald’s, and was home to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre from 2003 until 2017. The new development will have a grocery store as one of the commercial tenants.

Under the Affordable NY Program, 30 percent of its units will be reserved for low-and-middle income New Yorkers. In order for Penn South to maintain affordability, MAG Partners will develop and operate the building under a long-term ground lease.

“The top priority for the board of directors is to preserve the affordability of Penn South for current residents and future generations,” said Ambur Nicosia, president of the Penn South Coop Board. “We needed a solution that does not require our shareholders to pay major increases in monthly maintenance fees. The stores are supposed to subsidize the apartments, not the other way around. I am pleased that we found a partner who will help us achieve these key objectives through the development of a new building that is contextual and appropriate to the surroundings.”

Renderings depict floor-to-ceiling glass on the ground floor, and a brick façade on the upper levels. Frontage along Eighth Avenue has an even grid of windows and bands breaking up the red-hued masonry. The exterior along West 26th Street features more floor-to-ceiling windows and several landscaped setbacks. MAG Partners has partnered with COOKFOX for 241 West 28th Street, another residential building in Chelsea.

Construction for 335 Eighth Avenue is expected to begin in 2022.

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Power 100 – #50 MaryAnne Gilmartin

MAG Partners scaled its business in a big way during the past year and not long after the company’s birth.

The developer, which MaryAnne Gilmartin founded in July 2020, launched leasing in February for its inaugural New York project, the 480-unit Ruby residential development at 243 West 28th Street in Chelsea. Thirty percent of the units are designated as affordable, and the property includes 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. It is named after Black fashion designer Ruby Bailey, and it marked the first of a portfolio of multifamily buildings MAG plans to name after historical and influential women.

“Ruby embodies what we as a company did through the pandemic, where we doubled down on New York and we bet on the city when people were writing its obituary,” Gilmartin said. “We managed to get the financing and the construction underway in very, very difficult circumstances. And now, behold, we have this beautiful building.”

Two other New York City projects from MAG began to take shape in the past year, including at 335 Eighth Avenue, where demolition has begun for a 188-unit rental building. MAG’s project team also assembled a development site at 300 East 50th Street with plans for construction later this year.

Gilmartin also led MAG’s expansion into the Baltimore market by joining with MacFarlane Partners in May 2022 on a 177-acre master-planned community project in South Baltimore. The

1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use development also includes sponsorship from Sagamore Ventures, the family office of Under Armour founder and chairman Kevin Plank, as well as Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group. Since taking over in the developer role, Gilmartin

has signed two commercial leases and an extended-stay hotel development deal, and also started the residential lease-up of nearly 600 units, with a 20 percent affordable component.

“We’ll always be a New York company, but our love of New York and our ability to do what we do, which is to build multiple asset classes and think really big and boldly, brought us to Baltimore,” Gilmartin said. “I think that that was a high-water mark for us to grow the company outside of New York and actually put a flag in the dirt in Baltimore.”

Growing MAG’s footprint into Baltimore contributed to the company more than tripling its employee roster. It now has 33 on staff, 50 percent of them female.

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Lidl to Open New 23K SF Grocery Store in Chelsea

A new Lidl grocery store is headed to 335 Eighth Avenue and it’s anything but little, Commercial Observer has learned. 

Lidl inked a 15-year deal for 23,000 square feet at the base of the affordable housing development between West 26th and West 27th streets, according to developer MAG Partners.

Asking rents were $150 per square foot on the ground floor and $65 per square foot in the basement, according to landlord broker Cushman & Wakefield. The new outpost — set to open in 2025 — will be Germany-based Lidl’s second in Manhattan, after it debuted in Harlem at 2187 Frederick Douglass Boulevard in February 2021. 

Lidl also has locations in Staten Island and Queens and plans to “open even more stores” in the next few years, including a Brooklyn outpost, Or Raitses, senior director of real estate for Lidl’s New York region, said in a statement.

As part of MAG’s deal with 335 Eighth’s owner — the board of the neighboring housing cooperative — to build the 188-unit residential building, it was required to find a low-cost supermarket for the retail space, and Lidl fit the bill, according to MAG.

“Lidl shares our commitment to the greater Chelsea community and will bring excellent service and products to this neighborhood,” MaryAnne Gilmartin, founder and CEO of MAG, said in a statement. 

MAG will break ground on the seven-story project this month, demolishing the existing retail building previously occupied by a McDonald’s, a Gristedes supermarket and restaurant Taco Bandito.

CBRE’s Stephen Sjurset, David LaPierre, Robert Bonicoro and Duane Davis brokered the deal for Lidl while Alan Schmerzler, Sean Moran, Catherine Merck and Patrick O’Rourke of C&W represented MAG. A spokesperson from CBRE declined to comment.

Celia Young can be reached at [email protected].

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Clyde’s Restaurant Group to take over Baltimore Peninsula’s Rye Street Tavern

A Washington D.C. restaurant group is expanding to Baltimore with plans to take over a waterfront tavern in the Baltimore Peninsula development.

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