The Cortland: What the Offering Plan Says About 555 West 22nd Street

Updated Oct 11, 2026 · 7 min read

The Cortland is a 144-unit, two-tower condo in West Chelsea from Related, designed with Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Olson Kundig. Here's what its offering plan says about the finishes, amenities, staffing, budget and fine print.

In brief: The Cortland is a 144-apartment condo at 555 West 22nd Street in West Chelsea, sponsored by an affiliate of The Related Companies, with Robert A.M. Stern Architects on the exterior and Olson Kundig on the interiors. It is one building with two towers: a 23-story West Tower on Eleventh Avenue and a 14-story East Tower on West 23rd Street. What sets it apart, per the plan: a cellar wellness level with two pools, a union staff of about 20 plus a separate amenity and concierge operator, gas cooking and hot water paid through common charges, and parking sold as $400,000 licenses.

What's Specific to It

• Two pools and a lifeguard line in the budget: a lap pool and a family leisure pool, plus a whirlpool and cold plunge. The first-year budget sets aside roughly $95,000 for lifeguard and pool services alone.
• A concierge company on top of the staff: the sponsor plans to hire an amenity operator (possibly a Related affiliate) for luxury concierge and amenity programming, about $455,000 a year, which the board can drop after year one.
• Your gas is shared, your electricity isn't: gas for cooking, fireplaces, heat and hot water is a common expense, while each apartment's electricity, including the fan coils that heat and cool it, is submetered to you.
• A public space inside the building: a community facility space in the cellar, entered from West 23rd Street, is open to the public, and the plan warns nearby owners about noise and traffic.
• Parking and storage are licenses: 29 parking licenses at $400,000 each (about $450 a month in fees) and 19 small storage rooms from $50,000 to $150,000. The sponsor can issue them to non-owners too.
• It sits in a flood zone: the site is in FEMA Zone AE, and staff deploy removable flood barriers at entrances below flood elevation, including the garage door.

Listing sites show layouts and views. The offering plan, which the developer filed with the New York Attorney General, shows which oven is in the wall, who pays for gas, how many doormen the budget covers and what a parking space really is. New to these documents? Start with what a condo offering plan is.

At a Glance

• Address: 555 West 22nd Street, with frontage on Eleventh Avenue, West 22nd and West 23rd Streets
• Homes: 144 residential units, from studios to five-bedrooms, roughly 750 to 6,000 square feet
• Layout: West Tower (86 units) and East Tower (58 units), each with its own elevators, linked only at the cellar and first floor
• Offering prices: the first Schedule A offered 80 units at sponsor prices from about $1.7 million to $21.5 million (offering prices, not sales); the rest were held back
• Also included: 29 parking licenses and 19 storage licenses
• Plan accepted: June 2021 (plan CD190409)

Finishes

Kitchens

The plan lists a kitchen "package" for each line, and nearly all of them are built around Gaggenau. Depending on the apartment, you'll see:

• Gaggenau refrigerator, dishwasher, gas cooktop, wall oven and speed oven
• A Gaggenau steam oven and built-in coffee maker in some of the larger layouts
• A Sub-Zero undercounter wine fridge in most packages
• A Miele hood, vented, and a Galley workstation sink

Bathrooms

• Primary baths list double Kohler Ladena sinks with Fantini Icona Deco faucets, showers and hand showers
• Many primary baths add a Kohler "Tea for Two" soaking tub, and a few lines get a steam shower
• Toto toilets throughout; floors and walls in stone or ceramic tile

Curious how this stacks up? See bathroom brands in NYC luxury condos.

Floors, windows and fireplaces

• Floors: 3/4-inch oak over two layers of plywood, in living rooms, bedrooms and closets
• Windows: thermally broken aluminum windows by Traco (or equal) with low-E glass, mixing fixed panels and in-swing casements
• Fireplaces: gas fireplaces in the living rooms of the W-A line, and in both the living room and primary bedroom of a few larger W-A units

Laundry, heating and cooling

• Every apartment gets an LG washer and electric dryer; four-bedrooms and up get two of each
• Heating and cooling come from four-pipe fan coil units (International Environmental or equal), with thermostats by room or pair of rooms
• Gas-fired condensing boilers make the building's heat and hot water

Good to know: every finish comes with the sponsor's usual right to substitute items "of equal or better quality," and the plan specifically reserves the right to swap the wood floor selection. For broader context, see NYC condo finishes since 2010.

Amenities

The amenities sit on two levels shared by both towers, plus a roof terrace.

• Cellar (wellness and sports): a natatorium with a lap pool and a family leisure pool, a whirlpool and a cold plunge; men's and women's locker rooms, each with a sauna and steam room; a wellness or treatment room; a golf simulator lounge; a sports court (called a multi-sports court in one part of the plan and a squash court in another); a dog grooming room; and the shared laundry room
• First floor: a resident lounge and dining room with a catering kitchen and a gas fireplace, a game room, a screening room, a maker space, a children's playroom, a fitness center with yoga and Pilates rooms, a concierge room and bike storage
• Elsewhere: a second children's playroom on the West Tower's third floor, and an Amenity Terrace on the roof of the East Tower

Compare amenity sets elsewhere in NYC condo amenities by building size.

Staffing and Services

The budget assumes a union staff, members of Local 32BJ, made up of:

• 14 doormen and concierges
• 4 porters
• 1 handyman
• 1 resident manager, who lives in a building-owned unit

Payroll and benefits come to about $2.1 million in the first year, roughly a third of the budget. On top of that, the sponsor plans to hire an outside company to provide "luxury concierge" and amenity management: travel planning, reservations, dry cleaning, maid and valet service, amenity programming and pool lifeguards. You pay for services you use; the company's base cost, about $455,000, is a common expense. After year one the board can drop it, but must still keep a lifeguard at the pools. See what a NYC condo doorman costs for comparison.

What It Costs to Run

The sponsor's first-year budget (projected for calendar 2022) comes to about $6.4 million, almost all of it paid through residential common charges. In the original Schedule A, monthly common charges ran from about $1,200 for the smallest studio to about $14,000 for the largest penthouse. The biggest lines:

Insurance is the second-biggest line, and its quote includes flood and earthquake coverage. Garage costs of about $157,000 are covered by parking license fees, not by everyone. For context, see why NYC condo operating costs differ and our operating expense benchmarks.

Good to know: the sponsor did not set up a reserve fund; instead, buyers pay a working capital contribution of two months' common charges at closing. And the first-year tax figures reflect a building still under construction. The plan warns that taxes may rise "materially" once the finished building is reassessed.

Fine Print Worth Knowing

• Licenses, not deeds: parking and storage are licenses. The first issuance fees go to the sponsor, and the sponsor can limit how many one buyer gets, sell in bulk, or issue them to people who don't own an apartment. Storage rooms are small, about 13 to 35 square feet. More in parking: sold, licensed or leased.
• Public community space: the cellar community facility space is a common element open to the public from West 23rd Street, and the sponsor and board take no responsibility for noise or traffic from it or from the amenities.
• Flood zone: all apartments are above the design flood elevation, but some amenities aren't. Flood gates, including at the garage door, are put in place by staff when a storm is expected.
• The neighbor next door: the sponsor also owns 162 Eleventh Avenue next door and makes no promise about its future.

Who's Behind It

• Sponsor: 22nd and 11th Associates, L.L.C., an affiliate of The Related Companies
• Exterior design architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects
• Interior design architect: Olson Kundig
• Architect of record: SLCE Architects
• Managing agent: Related Management Company
• Selling agents: Related Sales and CORE Group Marketing
• Sponsor's counsel: Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel

Common Questions

Does The Cortland have a doorman?

Yes. The first-year budget covers 14 doormen and concierges, along with four porters, a handyman and a live-in resident manager, all assumed to be 32BJ union members, plus a separate outside concierge and amenity company.

Does The Cortland have a pool?

It has two, a lap pool and a family leisure pool, in a cellar natatorium with a whirlpool and cold plunge, and the budget pays for a lifeguard.

How does parking work at 555 West 22nd Street?

The garage, entered from the motor court, holds 29 spaces offered as licenses rather than deeded units, each listed at a $400,000 issuance fee with a projected license fee of about $450 a month.

Is there in-unit laundry?

Yes. Every apartment gets an LG washer and dryer, four-bedrooms and larger get two sets, and there's also a shared laundry room in the cellar.

Where this comes from: the building's offering plan (CD190409) as filed with the New York Attorney General, including its description of property, Schedule A offering prices and Schedule B first-year budget. Prices are the sponsor's offering prices, not sales, and budgets are the sponsor's first-year projection; later amendments may have changed them. Updated October 2026.