Ross + Kramer Art Gallery to Take Over Former Bungalow 8 Space in Chelsea
By Nicholas Rizzi June 30, 2020 2:50 pm
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Ross + Kramer Gallery, a fine art gallery focused on blue-chip artwork, will take over the former home of the celebrity hotspot Bungalow 8 in Chelsea, Commercial Observer has learned.
The gallery signed a 10-year lease for 2,500 square feet on the ground floor of 515 West 27th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, according to landlord brokers Meridian Retail Leasing. Asking rent was $160 per square foot.
“It is gorgeous, forget about the history that it was once the hottest nightclub in the city,” Meridian’s James Famularo said about the space. “I can’t tell you how many times people would call me and say I want to see the gallery space.”
Before becoming a gallery, the retail space was home to the famed Bungalow 8 nightclub. The club — which closed in 2009 — attracted numerous celebrities, was name-checked by P. Diddy in a song and made appearances on T.V. shows “Sex and the City” and “Gossip Girl,” The New York Times reported. It later was leased by the Kasmin Gallery.
Famularo was in talks with Ross + Kramer — which has locations on the Upper East Side, East Hampton, N.Y. and Palm Beach, Fla. — to lease the space before the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed the deal by months.
And even though some blue-chip art galleries are reportedly fleeing to the Hamptons in the wake of the pandemic, Famularo was able to sign the deal last week.
“It was an exciting project to work on,” Famularo said.
Famularo represented the landlord, Lisa Grieco, while Redwood Property Group’s Jonathan Travis brokered the deal for Ross + Kramer.
“The gallery was attracted to the space due to the unique nature of the building and the interior,” Travis said in a statement. “It is one of the rare remaining freestanding buildings in West Chelsea enabling for a strong street presence, has very high ceilings and a stunning massive skylight.”
