The Plan: At 142 West 21st Street, Developers Went the Extra Myle

For Yiannes Einhorn, managing principal at developer Grid Group, going above and beyond when developing and designing residential buildings is more than a buzzy phrase to toss around when enticing buyers. It’s a responsibility that he and his team take painfully seriously. 

At the firm’s latest ground-up development, the Myles condominium at 142 West 21st Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, Einhorn took that attention to detail to the next level with a facade made of eight different materials, arguments with designers over the type of screwhead used in the medicine cabinets, and ensuring that no two rooms in each of the 22 units were too alike. 

“I’ve been doing this for about 20 years, and with every project you learn something new,” Einhorn said. “We’re very dialed in. We’ve gotten down to such a microscopic level of the things we care about that it’s ridiculous. Are we really talking about the screwhead in a medicine cabinet? Yes, we are.”

The Myles, so named because of its proximity to the famed Ladies’ Mile historic district, will feature a unique blend of luxury and boutique hospitality. Units run from two to four bedrooms, and range in price from over $2 million to $19 million for a penthouse. 

All but two of the units have outdoor space, giving residents the opportunity to enjoy the city view in privacy, or they can head to the communal outdoor space and chat with neighbors in a cozy landscaped terrace with comfortable seating and grills. Each unit will also have a fireplace. 

Residents will have access to an amenities package set to include a fitness and wellness center featuring workout equipment such as a Pilates reformer. There’s also an infrared sauna and a parking garage with 16 spaces. 

The developer’s microscopic attention to detail can be felt throughout the units, where the different bathrooms — some units have two or more en suite and guest bathrooms —  in each home have different finishes. 

“It’s very easy to just do the same thing,” said Nicole Hechter, sales director at Corcoran New Development. “But Grid really wants to make each buyer feel special by giving them something different. Every decision is so deliberate, and the team spends an awful lot of time on every single decision.” 

For Einhorn and Grid, it wasn’t enough to provide beauty within the Myles. They wanted that wow factor to shine through on the exterior of the building as well. 

“We went for it with the [exterior] design,” he said. “We got carried away. It could have been two less materials, certainly. But terra cotta is so beautiful, and another brick was so beautiful, and we had a metal panel in one color, so why not have two colors? And that stone is so cool — let’s do a stone base, wouldn’t that be nice? And, before you knew, it we were saying yes to everything.” 

Einhorn and Hechter expect closings on the units at the Myles to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.