On the Bowery, Homeless to Hipsters Almost Overnight

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.