6sqft.com February 15, 2018

The New Nomadic Lifestyle: Luxury Real Estate and Restaurants Take Over Nomad

By Michelle Colman Impressions 151,089

nomad is defined as “a member of a community of people who live in different locations, moving from one place to another in search of grasslands for their animals.” But it would be hard to imagine any Nomad resident ever straying for Agrasslands beyond Madison Square Park. After a series of incarnations over the years, Nomad is now a super hip, bustling neighborhood from morning through night with residents, technology businesses (it’s now being referred to as “Silicon Alley”), loads of retail (leaning heavily toward design), great architecture, hot hotels, and tons and tons of food.

Named for its location north of Madison Square Park, Nomad’s borders are a bit fuzzy but generally, they run east-west from Lexington Avenue to Sixth Avenue and north- 6sqft.com February 15, 2018 south from 23rd to 33rd Streets. Douglas Elliman’s Bruce Ehrmann says, “Nomad is the great link between Madison Square Park, Midtown South, Murray Hill and 5th Avenue.”

Nomad’s many lives

Via NYPL

In the early 19th century, Nomad was known as “Satan’s Circus” for the proliferation of bars, prostitutes and gambling. It wasn’t all unsavory activity, though, because on Christmas Eve, all the brothels’ proceeds went to charity. In its next incarnation, stately brownstones and social lunches at Delmonico’s dominated the neighborhood. Later, Nomad became known for the cluster of wholesale stores along Broadway. Today, it’s a hotbed of cool architecture, luxury condo buildings, high-end hotels, and world class restaurants.

Nomad is also inextricably tied to Madison Square Park. Formerly a military parade ground, the park, like the entire neighborhood, has undergone a number of changes since pre-Revolutionary War days. Early on, it was a burial ground and has also been an army arsenal and the site of a facility for juvenile delinquents. After it was destroyed by fire in 1839, Madison Square Park, as we know it today, was redesigned in 1847 and looked very similar to today with criss crossing paths and a wrought iron fence surrounding it.

Nomad living

6sqft.com February 15, 2018

Photo via CityRealty

According to Compass’ website, “Nomad is a favorite of residents who welcome the non-stop, vibrant pace. This neighborhood tends to attract the more professional crowd… and is also a popular choice for those who can often find larger apartments in many of the luxury doorman buildings around the neighborhood.”

Compass Agent Sean McPeak says, “Nomad is a neighborhood known for commercial innovation and historic architecture. People working and living in the neighborhood are accustomed to high-ceilings, ornate building details and loft architecture, which is now being mimicked by new developments in the area.”

In the mid-19th century, Nomad was filled with luxurious private brownstones and mansions with lawns, some of which still stand today. The area is defined by a range of architectural styles, from the Second Empire to French Renaissance Revival to Modern mid-rises.

Some notable newcomers and new renovations are the Morris Adjmi-designed 30 East 31st Street, 88 and 90 Lexington, and 212 Fifth Avenue.

The NOMA 6sqft.com February 15, 2018

Renderings of NOMA, courtesy of FX Collaborative

Designed by FX Collaborative, the NOMA is a 24-story tower with 55 condominiums. The building’s amenities include a fifth-floor landscaped terrace, library, lounge, and fitness area.

Rendering of NOMA’s penthouse, courtesy of FX Collaborative

6sqft.com February 15, 2018

Timothy McCarthy, Senior Sales Director at Alchemy Properties, states, “The NOMA at 50 W 30th Street pays homage to the neighborhood with its striking hand-laid brick facade and industrial neo-Bauhaus-inspired design. It’s distinctive aesthetic compliments NoMad, the most thriving section of that continues to attract the best names in cuisine, retail, fitness and culture.”

Nomad’s Food Scene

Delmonico’s original midtown location in the late 1800s, via NYPL

From 1876 through 1899, the infamous Delmonico’s restaurant, a multi-story facility with a large sidewalk café located at Fifth Avenue and 26th Street, was the place where anybody who was anybody would go to dine and be seen. That tradition of fine dining in Nomad continues today.

Eleven Madison Park via djjewelz/Flickr

Fine dining 6sqft.com February 15, 2018

The dining options in Nomad are too many to note, but here are some highlights. Union Square Hospitality Group, founded by world-renowned chef , began with the opening of Union Square Cafe in 1985, when Meyer was only 27 years old. In 1998, he opened (on the east side of Madison Square Park) but has since sold it to chef Daniel Humm. The restaurant has been voted among the world’s top 50 restaurants eight times; last year it was ranked number one. Humm, along with his restaurateur partner , subsequently opened the Nomad restaurant in the gorgeous Nomad Hotel.

To continue the fine dining in hotel trend, there’s the Ace Hotel’s gastropub The Breslin with, unsurprisingly from the owners of the Spotted pig, meat-heavy dishes like milk-braised pork, pork-fried pancetta toast, and whole roasted suckling pig.

In 2010, Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich partnered to open the 50,000- square-foot Turin-born Eataly across the west side of Madison Square Park. Eataly offers a variety of Italian restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school.

Fast casual

Via Made Nice NoMad’s fast casual scene is hopping.

With art commissioned by Shepard Fairey and “social music” composed by Stephen Colbert’s Jon Batiste, Humm and Will Guidara opened Made Nice at 8 West 28th Street. Their menu items are rooted in the fine dining of Eleven Madison Park but served in compostable bowls. According to Humm, “‘Made’ stands for the craft and execution and ‘Nice’ stands for the hospitality.” 6sqft.com February 15, 2018

On behalf of Made Nice, Sarah Rosenberg said, “just a short walk from Eleven Madison Park is where Will and the Chef decided to open the NoMad Hotel in 2012 and they fell in love with the neighborhood. They then opened the NoMad Bar in 2014 right next door at 10 west 28th street. It made absolute sense to open made nice next to the NoMad bar on 8 west 28th. Their community of restaurants within these few blocks proves pride and commitment to the neighborhood.”

There is also uber-popular Sweetgreen for salad on Broadway (though you may have to wait on a line around the block), build-your-own Mediterranean bowl restaurant Cava on 24th and Park, Inday, for “your daily good karma,” and The Little Beet, for cold press juices and veggie, gluten-free options.

Nomad has come a long way from Satan’s Circus. The neighborhood has gone from a proliferation of unsavory to the most savory real estate, retail and restaurants in the world.

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