Tallest Essex Crossing Building Tops Out at 26 Stories

Days after announcing that the International Center of Photography would move to Essex Crossing, developers of the Lower East Side urban renewal area have announced that their tallest building has been topped off. The building at 115 Delancey Street, right across from ICP’s future home, is the last in Phase I to reach its full height of 26 stories, Delancey Street Associates said. 

Spanning an entire city block bounded by Norfolk, Delancey, Broome and Essex streets, the building is the 6-acre project’s largest structure and will house some of its most talked-about amenities, including a new home for the Essex Street Market and a 14-screen Regal Cinemas.

Regal, which already operates theaters in Union Square and Battery Park, signed a 15-year lease for what it says will be the largest movie theater in Lower Manhattan, complete with reclining seats in every auditorium.

The Essex Street Market will relocate to the Handel-designed building once its 37,000-square-foot space (about triple the market’s current size) is ready sometime next year. According to its website, the new market will accommodate a demonstration kitchen/events space, two new restaurants, and 11 new food vendors, and will be “situated directly next to a beautiful, light-filled mezzanine space which will host a variety of community events, including nighttime talks and vendor tastings.”

The building at 115 Delancey is set to house 195 residential units, including studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.