ONE GREAT JONES ALLEY
By Daniel J. Bollinger
With a secret alley entrance, One Great Jones Alley is a private paradise with exclusive residences. It is strategically located on a street only two blocks long which connects East and West 3rd Streets. This location straddles the East and West Villages and borders SoHo. The New York history of Great Jones Street is also unique: Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat made this street their home, making it the epicenter of the NoHo art movement. The great jazz bandleader Charles Mingus also lived here a generation before.
One Great Jones Alley is a boutique condo building. With only 16 units it has been designed very thoughtfully and keeping with the area’s industrial and artsy history. Floors 1-7 have split floor residences, 8-10 feature full floor residences with one duplex penthouse. Madison Realty Capital and BKSK Architects have not only “themed” out a great design plan keeping true to the industrial and artsy past of this street but are executing it greatly. Their theme is Wood…Earth…Stone using more Industrial feel materials with art- inspired execution. We had the pleasure of getting a complete tour of the design and sales gallery with Dan Cobleigh, Managing Director of Design & Development of Madison Realty Capital.
UNIQUE FEATURES
Let’s start with the secret alley entrance. One of the most unique features of any building in NYC is this porte-cochere. One of the last downtown alleyways (called Great Jones Alley) this offers a secluded and private entrance very rarely found in NYC. The entrance features naturally oxidizing Corten steel (Industrial) referencing the industrial past of the neighborhood. This private gated alley provides privacy from any paparazzi. The street façade of the building features hand glazed (Art) terra-cotta (Earth) fins that are unique to the neighborhood but also enhance the façade by referencing nearby historic buildings in the area.
The residences are large and laid out wonderfully. The kitchen, dining, and living rooms are an open concept living area. With 11-to-12-foot ceiling heights, it creates a grand living space perfect for family time and entertaining. The floor-to-ceiling 10-foot window walls create an indoor/outdoor experience. All units have either terraces or Juliette balconies with 10-foot sliding glass doors that also contribute to this experience.
THE LATEST TECH
The kitchens will have many fantastic design details with Gaggenau appliances. Gaggenau is the best. Gaggenau has been the pioneering brand for home appliances for more than 300 years and the leading innovator in technology and design. Gaggenau launched the first combination steam oven for domestic use more than 15 years ago. Since then, Gaggenau has maintained its leading role in this area through consistent further development. Their latest technical innovation in 2015 was a fully automatic cleaning system that is activated at the touch of a button. Gaggenau also is the only company to offer a refrigerator that is stainless steel on the inside. This fridge has LED sidewall pillars, one motorized glass shelf that is adjustable when fully loaded, a temperature controlled drawer, and stainless steel hinges that hold up to 200 lbs. When a developer installs all Gaggenau appliances, it is making a statement that they pride themselves on being the best.
The kitchen features fully integrated kitchen cabinets with bleached Nordic Oak (Wood) with an artisanal custom vertical staved pattern to match the façade (Art) with stainless steel accents at open shelving with toe kick (Industrial). The kitchen marble is Calacatta marble (Stone) mined from the same quarry as Michelangelo’s David. It is not sold to any other manufacturer in the world.
The bathrooms are equally impressive with the master bath described as “Opulent Minimalism.” The wet room has an oiled Teak (Wood) Japanese Soaking tub and a full height steam rain shower encased in custom glass with Teal surround (Wood). Custom double vanity and a huge recessed medicine cabinet with integrated lighting make this a luxury bathroom. Floor-to-ceiling Taj Mahal quartzite (Stone) walls, slab floor and coutertop complete the room. All Dornbracht rose gold plated fixtures (Industrial) throughout. The powder room has a fascinating Scandinavian wood sink (Wood).
One Great Jones Alley has excellent amenities. The private gated alley entrance paved with Belgian block (Stone) is surely one of the unique amenities that any building offers in NYC to date. Some common amenities include a 24-hour doorman/concierge, Jay Wright-designed fitness center with movement studio, second floor landscaped terrace by HM White, residential and bike storage, and oversized laundry facilities. They also have a full-time on-site superintendent—a good sign that the sponsors care about their residents and building. A rare amenity is the curated, rotating art exhibitions by noted gallerist Eric Firestone. But the greatest comfort is their serene water spa featuring two thermal baths of varying temperatures, cold plunge pool, heated plinth, and windowed steam room and private treatment center. These are all located on the cellar level. A beautiful architectural detail is the three-story glass-encased staircase that connects the cellar spa level with the second-floor garden. This allows natural light to flow all the way down to the cellar private spa and permeate throughout the lobby as well.
The design-rich interiors coupled with the best materials and appliances executed in an industrial and artsy way all combine to make One Great Jones Alley one of the unique new developments in NYC.
