In Manhattan, the most densely populated borough of the most populated US city, where superprime properties stretch past $5,000 per square foot, Eric Brown’s young sons can ride their bicycles around the living room. Their apartment is in a converted warehouse in Tribeca, the city’s once-industrial heartland and now the site of some of its most in-demand homes. Living in a more-than-100-year-old factory building feels “inspirational”, says Brown, and it’s not only about the cycling space.
“It’s a piece of New York history, with wooden beams and steel bracing that has been utilised for dozens of different purposes over time,” says Brown, co-founder of real-estate agency Elevated Advisement. “I can see scuffs on the columns and marks where an artist threw in a nail to hang his canvas. It’s the definition of character. There are former spice warehouses where you can still smell the cinnamon in the beams.” He recently sold a seven-bedroom, single-floor loft in a former wrapping-paper factory, designed by Albert Wagner in 1887, with an asking price of $17mn.
Chelsea Powerhouse, part of the Chelsea Waterfront scheme in London. Interiors by Angel O’Donnell
The terrace of a five-bedroom apartment at Chelsea Powerhouse. Interiors by Angel O’Donnell
