One of the oldest and largest art buildings in Manhattan is for sale, threatening to displace scores of artists.

The West Chelsea Building, established in 1993 by the married couple Gloria and Raymond Naftali to create a vibrant artist community via inexpensive studio space, is listed for sale at $170 million by the brokerage firm Colliers, according to the Commercial Observer. Its tenant directory lists 207 entities, including galleries and artist studios.

Located at 508-534 West 26th Street, the 400,000-square-foot building was completed in 1910 and occupies a large chunk of the block between 10th and 11th Avenues. Over the past three decades, its labyrinthian hallways have housed studios of artists like Glenn Ligon, Gary Simmons, Peter Halley, Ross Bleckner, Louise Fishman, and Hiroshi Sugimoto. On the ground floor, current gallery tenants include Berry Campbell, Galerie Lelong, and Fergus McCaffrey. Last year, a longtime occupant, Mitchell-Innes and Nash, closed, while Alexander Grey Associates gallery decamped for Tribeca.

Gloria Naftali died in 2022 at the age of 96, leaving many of her assets to the Raymond and Gloria Naftali Foundation, a non-profit she established in 2008. (Raymond died in 2003.)

“It is my wish, but I impose no legal obligation, that the Foundation maintain the character and use (primarily for artist studios and galleries) of the building located at 508-534 West 26* Street, New York, New York, as the same shall exist at the time of my death,” Naftali wrote in her will, which was viewed by Artnet News.

The Chelsea Building around 1940. Photo courtesy the New York City Municipal Archives

Greene Naftali moved into the building in 1995. (The name of the gallery reflects a partnership between Gloria Naftali and art dealer Carol Greene.) It currently occupies ground-floor and eighth-floor spaces in the building and represents artists like Jacqueline Humphries, Rachel Harrison, Tony Cokes, Alex Israel, and Walter Price.

“Gloria loved walking around and being part of these artist studios,” Christine Berry, the co-owner of Berry Campbell gallery, said.

Like other tenants Berry doesn’t have a lot of information about what is happening. “This is new to us,” she said.

Alarmed, artists organized a West Chelsea Building Tenants Committee, securing a meeting with the estate representatives this afternoon in the former Mitchell-Innes and Nash space. 

“By now, many of you may have heard that our beloved building on West 26th Street has been listed for sale by Raymond & Gloria Naftali’s estate, with an asking price of approximately $170 million,” the organizers wrote in a letter to tenants that was obtained by Artnet News. “Naturally, this news has sparked deep concern among us about the future of our community, the dedicated staff, and the livelihoods we’ve built here. As discussions have intensified, we believe it’s time to come together and organize as a collective.”

Dozens of tenants gathered at the meeting with three representatives of the foundation. They voiced frustration about learning about the building’s proposed sale in the media, rather than being informed by the owners. Tenants insisted that it could not be an insurmountable challenge to ensure that the building remains available to them at below-market rental rates, since that is what Naftali would have wanted.

Derek Wolman, an attorney for Naftali’s estate, said that the building’s sale is necessary for operational and tax reasons and added that it isn’t generating enough income for the foundation to maintain it.

The proceeds from the sale will go to Naftali’s favorite causes, which range from supporting artists to preserving the memory of the Holocaust, he said. (Raymond was a Holocaust survivor, Wolman said).

Wolman confirmed that the foundation hired a firm to market the building for sale. Close to 100 people expressed interest in checking it out.

An opening of “Stephen Maine: Falling Rocket” at Satchel Projects, which is located in the building, last year. Photo: Katya Kazakina

“This is a major piece of real estate, it’s not going to sell in one day,” he said. “I don’t think anyone is in danger of losing their leasehold in the near future or even in medium future. We are hopeful we can find someone who will to keep the character of the building as an artist building and a gallery building.”

This is very much the hope of some tenants, as well. Artist Andrea Champlin, who leased a studio in the building in the fall of 2021, ended up opening a gallery, Satchel Projects, in her front room. Its shows have gotten rave reviews, and it helped artists land at bigger galleries, while she has continued to use the rest of the space as her painting studio.

“What I love about the building is that it’s a hybrid building,” Champlin said. “It’s part of the fabric of the city. I don’t know of any other building like that.”

Brian Boucher contributed reporting.