37 East 18th Street

Situated on the eastern edge of the Ladies Mile Historic District of Manhattan, the rebirth of the 19^th century Ely Building at 37 East 18^th Street as a boutique commercial office building will add to the district’s longstanding tradition of innovation and creativity.

BKSK was engaged to renovate and vertically enlarge the existing commercial building, preserving the ground-floor retail while introducing new opportunities for full-floor office spaces on the upper floors. The building will feature a refreshed entrance, differentiating the office lobby entry from the retail storefront with a modern entry bay, sensitive marquee, modern lighting, and signage. The attended lobby serves as a transitional space—with a warm, welcoming, and elevated feel, with a thoughtful blend of architectural textures of wood panels and plaster detailing, and a bold, memorable portal leading to the elevators.

BKSK’s Interior design for the upper floors reflects the building’s location between 3 major urban green spaces, inspiring a park-like setting with opportunities for garden elements to be woven through the pre-built floors. The layout is designed as a path through a park, with circulation flowing around a central open workspace—highlighted by material changes in the flooring. Custom built-in moments are crafted using vertical oak wood slats, creating semi-private flexible seating areas that help define and enrich the space with a variety of work spaces.

The project’s rooftop addition is an extension of the vertical park metaphor, featuring a shared amenity garden conservatory room leading to a newly tiered landscaped roof terrace. The rooftop additions including a large elevator vertical extension and the ground floor modifications were approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in April 2025.