House 39 Apartments

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395-foot, 36-story modernist residential building completed in 2016. Designed by Handel Architects, the building replaced a 6-story parking garage. The building fills the full frontage along the Tunnel Exit Street from 39th to 40th Street. The north elevation, and the north end of the west elevation, of the blue-tinted glass facade is square, and divided into an abstract arrangement of rectangles of various sizes by white pre-cast stone mullions running both horizontally and vertically. The middle section of the west elevation continues the blue-glass curtain wall, with a more regular division into 2-story sections by white horizontal pre-cast stone bands. There is also a shallow recessed area running up the center of the middle section, effectively splitting it into two halves. The southwest corner of the building is almond-shaped, presenting a contrast to the otherwise boxy envelope. Here the curving curtain wall is ornamented with a pattern of vertical green stripes of glass. A tall silver metal parapet extends above the almond shape, covering the rooftop mechanicals. The southeast corner and east facade returns to the squared, grid-like form of the northern sections.

At the base of the south section (the almond shape), the curtain wall gives way to triple-height white round columns, with clearer glass infill, enclosing the lobby and main entrance. A spiral staircase leads to the upper level of the building’s amenity floor, where there is a fitness center, swimming pool, yoga studio, lounges, and children’s playroom. The rest of the 2-story base extending north along the Tunnel Exit Street and on 40th Street is clad in tan brick, with ground-level storefronts.The building contains 373 apartment units.