Walker Tower

Address:: 212 West 18th Street, New York NY 10011
Property Type:: Residential
Construction Type:: Adaptive reuse
Year Built:: 1929, Restored 2013
Square Footage:: 200,000 GSF
Number of Units:: 47
Height:: 392 ft
Exterior Material:: Brick, nickel silver, bronze, and aluminum
Website:: walker-tower.com

A lot of people couldn’t understand how to make this building work as a residential one, but I knew the bones were great.
Michael Stern

Walker Tower is the historic restoration and conversion of Ralph Walker’s architectural masterpiece at 212 West 18th Street. Originally designed as an office and switching station for New York Telephone Company in 1929, the concrete-encased, heavy-steel framed structure remained a functioning telephone building, though had long been neglected into the 21st Century. JDS converted the upper half of the building into 47 residential condominiums, expanded the upper four stories with a 50,000 sq ft enlargement, and painstakingly restored the original Art Deco ornament

Pan up the Walker Tower facade

The only other honest architect in America.
Frank Lloyd Wright on Ralph Walker

A master of modern ornament, Walker used his skills as a designer to “humanize” the skyscraper and the city itself across 50 years of practice. Working with architectural historians, JDS reintroduced architect Ralph Walker to a New York audience through a monograph, Ralph Walker: Architect of the Century and exhibit.

Tour the exhibit.

Ralph Walker and Frank Lloyd Wright at a prestigious function
One Wall Street, New York, 1928-31
Portrait of Ralph Walker
Ralph Walker: Architect of the Century Monograph
Barclay-Vesey Telephone Building (today 100 Barclay)
Ralph Walker's proposed design for Terminal Park, Chicago, an unbuilt project.
Western Union Building, New York, 1928-30

Dedicated to preserving and enhancing Walker’s design, JDS brought Walker’s original design intent for a spired crown to fruition. Intricately angled coping stones and bricks were recast, and the original brick color (five different colors in nine different shapes) were salvaged from other parts of the building.

Walker Tower pre-restoration (2011) and post-restoration (2013)

Pre and Post Facade Restoration (2011-2013)

Michael Stern of JDS Development and Shaun Osher of CORE
The restored Walker Tower facade
Ironworker scales a penthouse beam
New cooling tower installation
Penthouse deck
Ironworker scales a penthouse beam
Walker Tower under construction
Walker Tower under construction

By delicately balancing old and new, Walker Tower has resulted in one of the most innovative and beautiful condominium projects in the last decade of NYC. Walker Tower outperformed the market, selling at an average price per square ft of $4,500, in a neighborhood that averaged $1,700 per square ft. Challenging market data concerning unit size and mix, the team created oversized, gracious residences on the broad floor plates.