Location: 136 Baxter Street (at Hester St.) in Little Chitaly
Size: Seven floors and 14 loft-style condos, including two penthouse duplexes
Prices: $1.6 million to $5 million, reportedly
Architects: Mark DuBois and Ed Rawlings
Developer: Max Protetch
Sales & Marketing: Stribling
Lowdown: We've only briefly touched on the Machinery Exchange, back when we were dissecting 123 Baxter and it was known as the Grand Machinery Exchange. Even though the two developments share an intersection in exploding Little Chitaly, the Machinery Exchange is the far more intriguing (and better looking) project. The website boasts that the building is "built by people who love architecture," and that ain't no lie. This is the pet project of Chelsea art dealer Max Protetch, who also happens to be buddies with famed architects like Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas. His selection of some under-the-radar names to redesign the converted warehouse raised a few eyebrows, but you can't argue with the results; like Kenny Rogers once said, it's the wood that makes it good! The six-inch-thick exposed timber beams will rope in any nouveau riche modern art investor with a nostalgic hard-on for Lincoln Logs. Very nice.
· The Machinery Exchange [Official Site]
· Listings: 136 Baxter Street [Stribling]
· Reconsidering Jetsonville [Curbed]