New York's 'Sexiest Sport' at Chelsea Condo Opening

Men in pinstriped suits and women in little black dresses floated around the Sara Tecchia Gallery last night, at a party celebrating the near completion of 100 West 18th Street and the success of NBC4HD's new show "OpenHouse NYC." The guests were surrounded by the art of David Fried--images of bubbles floating in space covered the walls, interrupted only by the photographic renderings of the condo units on display.

The space was the epitome of all that is Chelsea--art and real estate overlapping.

The tone was celebratory, the hosts beaming. Their 10-story residential condo is set to finish in December, with occupancy beginning in January, and they are 60 percent sold. The Brauser Group has made it look easy, and Scott Aaron, the director of development, was all smiles. "The process has gone very smoothly," he said. "We have a wide variety of people." The Observer reported the breakdown of buyers here.

Mr. Aaron described the new building. The interior layouts are varied depending on the unit, a characteristic which Mr. Aaron said would give more flexibility to buyers. In addition, instead of designing another glass structure, this new development has a black stone facade, infused with iron ore.

"It's a more grown up design for Chelsea," Mr. Aaron said. "It's a cosmopolitan industrial look. Chelsea is such an incredible mixture of fashion and art--next to an art gallery is a meat-processing plant. It gave us an opportunity to do something a little different but remain true to the roots of Chelsea."

There to celebrate with Mr. Aaron was the architect, Garrett Gourlay, and the team behind "OpenHouse NYC," a new show about New York City real estate. "We're honored that LXTV and NBC were interested in profiling our building," Mr. Aaron said. "It validates the vision that we had from the beginning."

But the crew from LXTV and NBC had their own celebrating to be doing. "OpenHouse NYC" premiered this summer, and has received good ratings. Launched as a show for New Yorkers who are "buying, selling, improving, or just dreaming," it covers these processes both on the weekly broadcasts and on their corresponding blog.

David Hyman, vice president of programming and creative services at NBC4HD explained the show's success. "We found that real estate is the sexiest sport in New York," he said.

The guests were swept up in the excitement of both of these projects. Over by the sushi and edamame platter, Tamir Shemesh, the executive vice president of new developments at Prudential Douglas Elliman chatted with interior designer Andres Escobar, of the firm of the same name.

"It's not a glass structure in a mid-block location. They are on a corner, and there is a view but it's not like you're facing the water. People are concerned with privacy," Mr. Shemesh commented. "The location is wonderful, the product very nice. I think they will do very well."