A Merry Mystery Lot Christmas

Thanks to Goggla for sharing this! A Christmas scene circa 2012 from the Mystery Lot ... the beloved site of far too many EVG posts on 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... home since early 2014 to the Jefferson, an 82-unit condoplex.

The Jefferson sheds its sidewalk bridge

At long last workers have removed the sidewalk bridge in front of The Jefferson, the new luxury residences at 211 E. 13th St. Look, the front doors!





As The Real Deal reported back in December, the 82-unit condo at the site of the former Mystery Lot in the North West East Village is 100 percent in contract.

Meanwhile, the sidewalk remains closed.



Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

The Jefferson reveals what '21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York' costs

Construction watch: 211 E. 13th St., aka The Jefferson

[October 2012, via EVG reader Katja]

Hey, let's pay a visit to the North West East Village, where work continues on the Jefferson, the new condo building at 211 E. 13th St. (AKA the former Mystery Lot).

EV Grieve Former Mystery Lot Correspondent/Current Jefferson Watcher Katja passes along photos of how the place is shaping up...





Eventually:



According to Streeteasy, 12 units are currently in contract here. There are 83 units in total at The Jefferson, named for the theater that once sat on the site.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

The Jefferson reveals what '21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York' costs

Meanwhile, at the Jefferson...

At the site of the former Mystery Lot. Where million condos are at the ready.



Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

The Jefferson reveals what '21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York' costs

About the 'Northwest East Village'

[Rendering on East 13th Street in the Northwest East Village]

The real estate section of the Times had a piece yesterday on the Jefferson, the incoming condoplex that replaced the Mystery Lot along East Thirteen Street near Third Avenue... in particular, the Times explores the Jefferson's claim that the building is in the "Northwest East Village."

With the new name, the team building the Jefferson may be trying to freshen the image of the area, which is lined with aged brick tenements and has been more gentrification-proof than other East Village enclaves.

Or, like other marketing tactics, the renaming could serve no more serious purpose than to draw attention to the building.

“We were being a little funny, because we know it’s never going to catch on,” said Michael Barry, the president of the Ironstate Development Company in Hoboken, N.J., which is working with SK Development and CB Developers on the project.

Anyway, everybody knows that this is Midtown South.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

The Jefferson reveals what '21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York' costs

Laying some bricks at the Jefferson

Over in the North West East Village, workers have just started laying the bricks on the Jefferson, the new condo building at 211 E. 13th St. (AKA the former Mystery Lot). Looks like this now...



...and some day soon...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

The Jefferson reveals what '21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York' costs

The last interesting empty lot in the East Village

Now that The Mystery Lot on East 13th Street is officially A Luxury Lot... we're nearly out of abandoned lots that are rather mysterious around here... save for this lot... the one off Houston/East Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...







This lot still holds some surprises, such as hosting the occasional crucified bear ... We don't know much about the lot (making it all the more mysterious!) ... just that the owner isn't interested in selling off the parcel... Still, enjoy it while you can.

Photos by Bobby Williams

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at the dwindling number of East Village lots

The Jefferson reveals what '21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York' costs

And yesterday, The Jefferson — the luxury condos that rose up from the former Mystery Lot on East 13th Street — unveiled its pricing and floor plans, as BuzzBuzz Home first noted. (We spotted the listings at Curbed.)

The Jefferson's marketing campaign asks, "Can you afford not to buy?" Unfortunately, the units turn out to be more than $300. The listings include a 536-square-foot studio for $850,000 up to a two-bedroom penthouse with a rooftop terrace for $2.49 million. In between, one-bedrooms range from $1.11 and $1.54 million.

Anyway, go look at the units... come back and comment... Or just comment.

And the view from East 13th Street...



...and the roof...



Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

Reaching the top at The Jefferson

Workers reached the top of the incoming Jefferson yesterday ... the new 8-floor condo on East 13th Street... at the site of the former Mystery Lot...



"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for a tasteful oasis of state-of-the-art living in an enclave of 18th and 19th Century charm."

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

Retail space for The Jefferson is also moving on up

The Jefferson's retail space on East 14th Street near Third Avenue is shaping up, as you can see now that the scaffolding and stuff has come down...



There are two spaces available, as we've pointed out previously here ...



Here's the official retail listing...

In the renderings, the two available storefronts are called "Dapper Drake" and "Karmic Koala."

Also, a different broker has the listing for the currently-empty 212 E. 14th St. space, former home of the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011. (It was no Dapper Drake, but...)

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

Meanwhile, at the former Mystery Lot...

Work atop The Jefferson continued until 10 last night. You have to put in a lot of hours to create a "tasteful oasis of state-of-the-art living in an enclave of 18th and 19th Century charm."

Photo by Nick Solares.

Richard Hell's New York (Mystery Lot shout-out!)

Richard Hell continues to do some press in advance of the release of his memoir, "I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp," on Tuesday.

Today, the Post features the longtime East Village resident in its weekly My New York feature... You can read it here.

And he was a Mystery Lot fan!

10. Vacant lot, north side of 13th Street, between Second and Third avenues (now a construction site)

“Whenever I would have to walk across town, I’d try to wrap myself down 13th Street. The lot was all overgrown. And when you were walking down 13th, the buildings that were still standing on 14th Street gave it this kind of broken-toothy kind of edge to it. A friend of mine wanted to make a movie with me — and my first idea was to do something in that lot. I put on a bunch of wounded-person makeup and staggered out from behind one of the 14th Street buildings. I have the footage, somewhere.”

Aside from the interviews that we've already mentioned (The New York Times last Sunday, the Observer), there have also been Hell Q-and-As in New York magazine... Esquire ... Spin has some book excerpts here.

Previously.

The Jefferson is moving on up

EVG Facebook friend Nick Solares shared the above photo from yesterday showing how quickly the newly christened development called The Jefferson is rising at the former Mystery Lot off East 14th Street and Third Avenue ... (Find more of his photos here.)

Meanwhile, Nick shared these two photos from the former enclave of 18th and 19th century charm Mystery Lot...





Previously.

Ads for The Jefferson mock your crummy apartment

Last Wednesday, we noted the new ad campaign for The Jefferson, the condo going up now at the former Mystery Lot... we saw the ads on the East 13th Street side plywood ... there are also a few different ads now on the East 14th Street plywood ... such as!



...and...



The last one there is likely meant to be playful... like those Manhattan Mini-Storage ads that read "Why leave a city that has six professional sports teams, and also the Mets?" Still. Really?

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

As you know, the Mystery Lot, the long-empty weed-filled lot off East 14th Street near Third Avenue, will soon be home to an eight-story, 83-unit luxury condo building.

For years, the land here was home to the Jefferson Theatre, which opened in 1913 as a B.F. Keith's vaudeville theater. The Cinema Treasures crew believe the Jefferson was in operation until 1977, when it ended its run as an XXX theater showing fare billed as "the adult film bonanza" for $1.99. The abandoned theater was demolished in 2000, and The Mystery Lot was born.

[Undated photo via]

Last night, a reader passed along a poster on the plywood outside the construction site, which shows how the new residences are being marketed.


Yes, you, too, "can live on a site once inhabited by W.C. Fields, Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Burns & Allen, Milton Berle and Jack Benny!"

This pitch will likely appeal to my grandmother, though can't say the same for your average condo buyer looking for private rooftop cabana terraces, a feature of six of the deluxe spaces.

There's also a teaser site now where you can register for information on "21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York."



Per previously released materials, shared building amenities include a library, fitness center, residents and business lounges, and a rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen. Perhaps there will even be Marx Brothers Film Festivals on the roof.

Find more on the old building's history at Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

More marketing and branding for The Jefferson

Aside from playing up the historic elements of the land here off East 14th Street near Third Avenue... where the Jefferson Theatre once stood...



The incoming Jefferson condo features an array of marketing messages... like that you can "live funky but chic" ...



...that the neighborhood is a "cultural magnet for artists, actors, musicians, writers and entrepreneurs" ...



...that the East Village is "America's original bohemian enclave... the birthplace of cool" ...



All something to remember while using the technogym equipment and roof-top BBQ ...



What do you think of this marketing campaign?

Mystery Lot no longer recognizable

As these photos by EV Grieve Former Mystery Lot Correspondent Katja show... our little graffiti- and weed-filled lot is all grown up now.. on its way to becoming an eight-story, 83-unit luxury condo building.





They can't take our memories, though.

Speaking of East Village lots...

Former Mystery Lot update! With an old-fashioned time lapse showing the progress...

Thanks, as always, to EVG regular Katja for these photos... Previously.