The Lower East Side features some of the New York City's hippest shopping destinations and best restaurants, a nightlife scene that ranges from cool dives to exclusive nightspots to cutting-edge music venues. What the LES did not have, until 2008, was a top-tier luxury rental building. That changed when the Ludlow opened on the bustling corner of Ludlow Street and East Houston Street. The Ludlow instantly became a Lower East Side landmark, thanks to an eye-catching design by architect Costas Kondylis, but it also rocketed to the top of any list of elite Lower East Side luxury rentals.