Inside Chelsea Seminary's Latest Dorm-Turned-Condos

The team behind the conversion of 422 West 20th Street?a former General Theological Seminary dorm that is following Chelsea Enclave into condo land?hopes to sell most of the building at an open house this weekend. Or at least get close: buyers are encouraged to show up with paperwork and a $200 deposit to purchase an offering plan, and any contracts will be issued Monday and Tuesday and signed later in the week.

Instead of braving the frenzy of the open house, we swung by the building earlier this week for a tour. Units range from 612 to 1,644 square feet?what the brokers refer to as "efficient" dimensions, with only the 3BRs substantially altered from the units' layouts when they were seminary dorms?and from $640,000 to $2.095 million. Only two units won't be up for grabs this weekend: the super's 3BR, and the ground-floor 1BR that will serve as the sales office for this building and, later, for the conversion/new construction hybrid that is the West Building. Too bad, because the combination of private street entrance and quirky bedroom-to-bathroom hallway made the sales office 1BR our favorite unit in the building.
There's nothing like a deadline to inspire intense construction activity, but even so, a few building features won't be available for viewing at the weekend's open house. The basement?the amenity floor?isn't done yet (when it is, it'll include storage, a lounge, laundry, and a gym). The roof deck also won't be finished until mid-summer. The roof deck might not be necessary anyway: building residents get access to the seminary's gated Close across the street, which also makes for peaceful views from some of the building's windows. (The Chelsea Enclave folks get a closer (sorry) look.)

Some of most spacious units, in the building's G and H lines, lack views of the Close, and the bedrooms are, as the floorplans indicate, small. Custom furniture makes the size a bit less noticeable, so maybe a few buyers will place orders for that this weekend, too.
· Official website: 422 West 20th Street [422w20.com]
· 422 West 20th Street coverage