New York magazine's S.Jhoanna Robledo reports this week on the reclaiming of Hell's Kitchen as a real estate marketing tool. In promotional materials and on the building's lobby windows, Elad Properties is pimping the Costas Kondylis- and Gal Nauer-designed Link building as being authentically "Hell's Kitchen." Yep, they're embracing the area's sordid past instead of opting for a friendlier name like "Clinton" for the 52nd St. luxury development's nabe (and commanding $1,000/sf in the process). Our old friend Shaun Osher explains: "A lot of neighborhoods have become so exclusive it's now trendy to be in a place that sounds gritty."
So, gritty is the new exclusivity, eh? Well then, let us know when 505 Court drops the whole "luxury loft living" shtick and proclaims "just steps away from Brooklyn's enticing Crack Alley," and Darren Aronofsky and Rachel Weisz gloat about buying on Whore's Lane.
· Hell and Back Again [NYMag]
· The Link [thelinknyc.com]