Galleries have Tunnel vision for Chelsea Terminal spaces.

Eight art galleries have recently signed leases at the Chelsea Terminal Warehouse at 261 Eleventh Avenue, the massive square-block building at 27th Street that formerly housed the Tunnel nightclub.

Two of the galleries were unaffiliated, but the other six made the move jointly, as a consortium called the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA).

Roxanne Betesh, vice president of Sinvin Realty Corp., and exclusive retail leasing agent for the building, represented the landlord, Waterfront NY, in the transactions. The six NADA art galleries were represented by Mark Oleszek, leasing director, and Jane Stuart, president and managing director, of Home Work People, Inc. Financial terms of each 10-year lease are not being disclosed, but the landlord had been asking $40 per square foot for the space.

All but one of the NADA galleries will relocate from their upper floor perches between West 24th Street and West 27th Street in Chelsea to their new ground floor showrooms. The other will relocate from SoHo.

Bona Tirer Gallery leased 3,700 s/f of ground floor space. Betesh represented the tenant; Schroeder Romero and Plus Ultra Gallery jointly leased 2,200 s/f on the ground floor. Mojgan Khaghan of JW Burke & Co. represented the tenant; Derek Eller Gallery (NADA) leased 1,853 s/f on the ground floor and 1,853 s/f in the basement; Clementine Gallery (NADA) leased 3,500 s/f on the ground floor and 3,500 s/fin the basement; John Connelly Presents (NADA) eased 2,333 s/f on the ground floor and 2,333 s/f in the basement; Foxy Production (NADA) leased 1,167 s/f on the ground floor and 1,167 s/f in the basement; SLP Art Culture Commerce, Ltd. (NADA) leased 1,167 s/fon the ground floor; Wallspace Gallery (NADA) leased 2,333 s/f on the ground floor and 2,333 s/f in the basement.

"This is a bold move by all the galleries involved," says Betesh. "By moving en masse they create a new destination with enough critical mass to draw the art world to their doorstep. The Chelsea Terminal Warehouse building has the right environment and pedigree for this kind of tenant."

The landlord was so accommodating that they lowered the wooden floors by about 18 inches, giving the galleries 11-foot, six-inch ceilings, perfect for the display of large canvases and sculpture.