It hasn’t been the smoothest of sailing for One High Line, the pair of seemingly squirming residential towers formerly known as The Xi and designed by Bjarke Ingels Group at the foot of the Manhattan park that inspires its name. A spate of investor lawsuits levied against its developer, former HFZ Capital Group executive Nir Meir, and a foreclosure cast a pall of doubt over the $2 billion project’s viability, halting progress for two years. The development was acquired by Witkoff Group and Access Industries and soon rechristened as One High Line. Construction resumed, sales relaunched, and a $52 million penthouse leased.
Now, nearly nine years after first breaking ground, the long-delayed project is ready for its close-up. Its two travertine towers—one 36 stories, another 26—gradually twist away from one another to maximize skyline views for its 241 units. Ingels, who gravitates toward the twist, intended the facade’s punched windows as a not-so-subtle homage to the area’s industrial heyday and, as he says, a “sculptural manifestation of its striking urban environment.” No exaggeration there—One High Line is a polished addition to a flashy corridor that’s oft-maligned for starchitectural showmanship.
Still, One High Line offers a covetable address—and even more covetable amenities designed by Gabellini Sheppard and Gilles & Boissier—for its residents. Once moved in, they can access the building via a private porte-cochère entrance, relax at a sprawling double-height bridge lounge, nosh in a dining room with catering kitchen, and do laps in the 75-foot indoor swimming pool. They’ll also be in close quarters to the forthcoming Faena Hotel, slated to open in the east tower next year, where they can enjoy free one-year passes to the private members club and spa Faena Rose. And a restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Francis Mallmann of Netflix’s Chef’s Table will offer even more thrills.
