On the Bowery, Homeless to Hipsters Almost Overnight

The Bowery Mission (left) and the the Salvation Army (right) are neighbors on the Bowery

The Salvation Army is selling its outpost on the Bowery in Manhattan, for more than $30 million to a hotel developer. The sale caps the transformation of a street formerly synonymous with homelessness into a destination for luxury.

The Salvation Army’s community center is a 55,000 square foot, 10-story building. Last year, a different buyer paid $62 million - cash - for a collection of eleven nearby buildings.

Gentrification can move startlingly fast. But here - with high thread count sheets crowding out shelter beds - it seems to have skipped all the in-between steps.