If you fancy living by a bustling downtown pier—and have a multi-million dollar budget—here's what's new along the West Side highway

The refurbishment of a slew of piers in Tribeca and Greenwich Village over  the last few years has brought such amusements to the city as an 18-hole miniature golf course (at Pier 25), City Vineyard, a City Winery offshoot and restaurant (at Pier 26), baseball and kayaking (at Pier 40) and a children’s play area with slides, water and sand play (at Pier 51). These piers have turned a once quiet stretch of the West Side Highway into a hopping, happening place to be. Let Triplemint’s Jayme Montgomery and BOND New York’s Michael Chadwick tell you more about it in this week’s Buy Curious.

The proposition:
I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about the area by the West Side Highway near the new piers. What’s available?

The reality:
Until relatively recently there hasn’t really been all that much to do along the West Side Highway in either Tribeca or Greenwich Village. But all that has changed with the redevelopment of several piers in the region.

These days, “the West Side Highway is full of young, beautiful people,” says BOND New York’s Chadwick. “They’re eating, drinking, walking their dogs, their strollers. They’re working out. All along the highway from Battery Park up to 59th Street there are activities for the entire family. [There’s] kayaking, boat tours, tennis courts, restaurants and bike trails….  On Tuesday evenings you can even get free Salsa lessons at Pier 45 in Greenwich Village. And nothing says summer like a sunset salsa.”

Read on to learn more:

What’s available?
For the most part, high-end new developments (although there are the occasional semi-affordable listings in the region such as this $515,000 West Village studio at 352 West 12th Street).

“Real estate along the West Side Highway/Hudson River waterfront consists mostly of homes to buy,” says Triplemint’s Montgomery. She cites 70 Vestry—a brand-new development that Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen recently bought into—and 111 Murray, a 59-story building with glass-walled apartments priced between $2.5 million and $18.9 million—as prime examples of what’s on the market there. 

“There are also a few luxury rental buildings like the Tribeca Park Luxury Apartments at 400 Chambers Street and Independence Plaza at 40 Harrison Street that have water views,” she says.

“New development prices have been skyrocketing along the West Side Highway and West Chelsea, with Penthouse 19 at 555 West 21st Street selling for $33,605,000 [in January of this year],” says Chadwick.

What’s pricing like? 
According to StreetEasy, which calls the neighborhood “the most expensive in New York City,” the median sales price in Tribeca is $3.8 million. Greenwich Village is (slightly) more affordable, with a median sales price of $1.6 million. But it’s tough to figure out if the piers have had any effect on pricing as of yet.

Appraiser Jonathan Miller says that “one of the challenges of figuring out the impact of piers to the adjacent neighborhoods is that it doesn’t happen very often… Chelsea Piers was one of the first such piers to replace the rotting piers along the Hudson River shoreline. It coincided with the boom of the neighborhood although it wasn’t a cause and effect relationship. It provided a supplemental amenity to a growing and developing neighborhood. I think the same goes for the new piers off of Tribeca. We are in the boom period of new urbanism that promotes street level engagement and walkability. The addition of this neighborhood amenity would be expected to provide a positive impact to an already vibrant neighborhood. In other words, we don’t know the specific impact at this point, but past experience indicates it will be clearly positive.”

Who lives there?
“While the brand-new construction condos going up along the West Side Highway are certainly focused on more affluent residents, there are still  plenty of opportunities for the rest of us,” says Chadwick. He himself lives in the Village a few blocks from Pier 40. “I go running down the West Side Highway several times a week,” he says.

He notes that tons of celebs also call the area home. “Daniel Radcliffe, the Olsen twins, Amy Poehler and Oliver Stone are rumored to have owned apartments at One Morton Square,” a West Village building located directly on the Hudson River, he says. “Julia Roberts even rented [an apartment] there for a short time while she was filming Eat Pray Love.”

What’s the dining scene like there?
These days, there are lots of places to eat right on the water, although some of them are only open in the warm summer months. And, according to Montgomery, “many of the restaurants have outdoor seating.”

She cites the aforementioned City Vineyard and Grand Banks—a seasonal oyster bar on the deck of a fishing boat at Pier 25 that’s only open from April to October—as examples of popular eateries near the piers. “It’s “difficult… to find seating on a nice summer night at sunset due to their close proximity to the water.”

What is there to do?
There’s tons of stuff to keep everyone in the family busy (and happy) all day long. “Families can now enjoy mini golf, skate parks and outdoor jungle gyms with their kids,” says Montgomery. “Adults can enjoy a glass of wine and oysters on a boat at Grand Banks.” 

There’s kayaking, a dog park, baseball fields, batting cages, boat building and a trapeze school at Pier 40. There’s beach volleyball, sailing and the Tribeca Skate Park at Pier 25. There’s fishing at Pier 34. There’s a children’s play area with monkey bars, slides, a pretend boat hull and sand and water play at Pier 51.

“What makes this area so special is the abundance of outdoor activities available that make the city feel homier,” says Chadwick. “You can get fresh air, sunlight, ride your bike, do yoga, go kayaking, etc. And there is a variety of price points so literally anyone can live around here.”

Check out these listings:

Tribeca two-and-a-half-bedroom, three-bathroom condo, $4,250,000: Features of this convertible three-bedroom at 250 West Street (between Hubert and Laight Streets) include arched south-facing windows, 10-foot ceilings, wide oak plank floors, an open kitchen with a large island and a wine bar and in-unit laundry. Building amenities include a 61-foot lap pool, a fitness center, a children’s playroom and a 5,000-square-foot rooftop terrace.

Tribeca one-bedroom, one-and-half-bathroom condo, $2,800,000: This 1,126-square-foot oversized one-bedroom at 111 Murray Street (between West Street and Greenwich Street) has a formal entry foyer, an open kitchen with a breakfast bar, a large living/dining room, a master suite with a walk-in closet and a utility closet with a washer and a vented dryer. The building offers a slew of amenities, including two pools, a 3,000-square-foot fitness center with a separate movement studio, a resident’s lounge, a private dining room with a demonstration kitchen, a steam room, a sauna, a hair salon and a children’s playroom.

Tribeca two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom condo, $3,495,000: Located at 200 Chambers Street (between West and Greenwich Streets), this loft-like unit has a renovated custom kitchen, a 21-foot master suite, a bright guest bedroom, a 1,200-square-foot professionally landscaped terrace and in-unit laundry. The condo building has a doorman, a concierge, a health club, an indoor pool, a resident’s lounge, a children’s playroom, a rooftop terrace and a courtyard garden.

Tribeca six-bedroom, seven-bathroom townhouse, $38,000,000: Located at 2 North Moore Street (between Varick Street and West Broadway), this 11,300-square-foot six-story mansion offers a high-speed elevator, seven central air units, air and water purification, radiant heated walnut hardwood floors, one-touch audio, video and security, a top-floor gym with a heated indoor swimming pool, a full house generator and a three-car garage. The residence also has huge windows, oversized skylights, three fireplaces, lots of storage and 1,500 square feet of private outdoor space.