While congestion pricing may no longer be on the cards on 11th Avenue, it could soon be increasing as the classic car club moves to a new location.
Vintage Wheels runs from Pier 76 in Hudson River Park to 645 11th Avenue (corner of W 47th St), located where a Toyota showroom once stood and on a street historically known as a mecca for car dealerships.
And it's long-term parking: As first reported by Commercial Observer, the club's owners have signed a 20-year lease on the 60,000-square-foot space in the Blum Auto Group building.
“We're excited to relocate to the east side of 12th Street and beyond into the surrounding neighborhoods,” co-founder Michael Pulicinello said.
While the car itself may be a car enthusiast's fever dream, you'd be hard-pressed to get it anywhere (at least on 11th Avenue) at more than 2 miles per hour on a Thursday or Friday afternoon when the roads are typically jammed with traffic (as they were at the time of writing).
According to Bloomberg, the exclusive, members-only club offers New York residents the chance to test drive vintage cars like the McLaren 57OS, Lamborghini Huracan, and '66 Ford GT.
The Classic Car Club's new location is next to the Ink 48 Hotel, which was previously home to The Press Lounge, a rooftop bar known for its panoramic views, and Print, a farm-to-table restaurant. Both closed in January due to economic headwinds.
In 2016, the club moved from a small space in SoHo to a former NYPD stables on Pier 76, but in 2021 it faced eviction with four years left on its lease after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to turn the pier into a public park.
The club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a “defensive measure” to protect its West Side Piers space (a warehouse space that was renovated at a cost of $6 million and boasts huge windows overlooking the Hudson River), where it remains open to the public.
The Classic Car Club was founded in London in 2005. In addition to vintage cars, the new location will also offer car storage, co-working and meeting spaces and a dining room.
“Given the uniqueness and one-of-a-kind experience the Classic Car Club offers its members, and the diverse use group it seeks to attract as occupants, our primary objective was to find the right fit, not only from a physical perspective, but with an owner who understood the special opportunity the club would bring to their property,” said Peter Gross of commercial real estate firm Avison Young, who brokered the deal.
The stretch of 11th Avenue that surrounds the club's new home has become something of a mecca for car enthusiasts, with a Cadillac dealership across the street and Lexus of Manhattan and Toyota of Manhattan on the next block.
Once known as New York's “Siberia,” the area has seen an upsurge in activity in recent years beyond car dealerships, including the relocation of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the construction of apartment complexes.
