THREAT OF DEMOLITION MAY FORCE SEVERAL MIDTOWN GALLERIES TO RELOCATE
According to Nate Freeman of Artnews, several galleries located at Twenty West Fifty-Seventh Street in Manhattan may be forced to relocate as speculation over landlord Sheldon Solow’s plans to demolish the building grows.
Washburn Gallery, a resident of the building for twenty-five years, was forced to halt its programming when Solow informed the arts space that he would not renew its lease. The gallery will relocate to 177 Tenth Avenue in Chelsea.
Other tenants of the building include Laurence Miller Gallery and Peter Blum Gallery. While Miller’s lease runs through the summer of 2018, Blum’s lease ends this fall. “No one knows what Solow’s up to,” Miller said. “It’s hard to know why he never rented out this building. But, ultimately, this building and several others will come down, I would think.” Many of the spaces in the building are not being rented out.
Blum confirmed hearing reports that Solow will raze the building. A spokesperson for Solow Realty & Development declined to comment. The developer bought the building in 2007 for $60 million.
