Tuesday, December 13, 2011

West Village, an oasis of personality

West Village in Manhattan, New York is a charming village full of personality and character.  Maybe that's why many celebrities call West Village home.  It feels like a village, has neighborhood charm and parts of West Village may even make you think you're in an European town.  The photo of the bakery below is example of the village feel of West Village.
 



























West Village is the residential part of Greenwich Village.  It's bordered by 7th Avenue, West Street, 14th Street and Houston Street.  West Village's attractions include tree-lined streets, rows of elegant townhouses, winding streets that sometimes don't make sense and restaurants/coffee shops in corners you won't expect.  Most buildings are low rise.  Being further from the subway makes it more inconvenient to access which is why it's a relatively quieter Manhattan neighborhood.

The High Line section of West Village (13th St, Washington Street), is lined with designer boutiques.  Bleecker Street also has numerous boutiques including a Burberry Brit.  As one gets towards 7th Avenue it becomes more commercialized.  A West Village magic, to a visitor, is when she finds a restaurant at a corner unexpectedly amidst residential properties.

Properties are mostly co-ops, rentals and townhouses.  Condos are few, prized and expensive.  Superior Ink at 400 W 12 St, priced at about $3000 per sqft, is sometimes referred to as downtown's answer to 15 Central Park West.  One Jackson Square, more conveniently located at 122 Greenwich Avenue, is another high end condo development which is closer to the subway and commercial areas.  By West Street, there are three Richard Meier all-glass buildings at 165 Charles, 176 Perry and 173 Perry.

This is a charming neighborhood and the best bet to find a coffee shop that is full of character and personality. 




Wei Min Tan is Managing Director of Castle Avenue Partners, focused on luxury residential condominium properties and foreign investors.  Wei Min speaks Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin, Malay and has represented clients from Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South America and Europe.  He can be reached at tan@castle-avenue.com

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