Taking Soho's Newest Luxury Rentals Out for a Test Drive

To understand how much Soho has changed over the years, one need not look further than the corner of Broome and Thompson Streets. There, the Tunnel Garage?New York's first indoor parking garage (circa 1920)?used to stand. Now it's the rich, not roadsters, that call 55 Thompson Street home. The Tunnel Garage has been replaced by a 9-story, 38-unit luxury rental building, and the garage's original terracotta medallion of a Ford Model T hangs on the residents' roof deck like a stuffed moose head in a hunter's cabin. Symbolic enough for ya?

55 Thompson hit the market not long ago, and as of last week, 60% of the apartments in the Stephen B. Jacobs-designed building have been rented (Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner dropped by, but they opted Dad's Trump Park Avenue). Rents typically run from $7k to $8k for one-bedrooms, $13k to $22k for two-bedrooms and $25k for those elusive three-bedroom downtown rentals. Speaking of, the building's first residents?a couple who followed the demise of the Tunnel Garage on Curbed?invited us into their 3BR/3BA apartment for a look. Yep, people actually live in the apartment seen in the gallery above. Can we get the cleaning lady's number?

The building, which is owned and managed by Manhattan Skyline, sports a gym, 24-hour doorman/concierge, landscaped outdoor space on the second floor and the aforementioned roof deck. The apartments have 10' ceilings, white-oak floors, Sub-Zeros in the kitchens and Whirlpool washers and dryers, among other top-of-the-line touches. Some units have gas fireplaces and private terraces and balconies, and the top-floor units have big headlights. Oops, we mean skylights. Some habits are hard to break.
· 55 Thompson [Official Site]
· 55 Thompson Street coverage [Curbed]