Formerly a warehouse district that bleeds into@ the now-hot Meatpacking District, Chelsea started transforming in the early. The infamous Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street attracted rock stars, writers and creative minds of the 60's and 70's and is currently still a functioning hotel (as well as luxury condos with a lengthy waiting list). From the late 1990's, art galleries started moving from SoHo to the less-expensive areas in Chelsea. Now, over 350 galleries are located in the area spanning from around 30th to 15th Streets and mostly far west, from Ninth Avenue to the West Side Highway. Chelsea has become an upscale neighborhood with bistros, luxury apartments, art galleries and designer boutiques.