NEW YORK CITY – Manhattan antiques and art dealer Bernard & S Dean Levy says the gallery’s planned renovations are getting underway at its new 227 West 17th Street loft in Chelsea, with plans for completion at the end of summer or early autumn.

The firm closed its 24 East 84th Street shop in March and was moved out by April.

Renovations and permitting on the 5,200-square-foot loft were halted due to the restriction on non-essential construction in New York City on account of the pandemic.

“We’re going to start our renovation either late this week or early next week,” Frank Levy told us.

Renovations to the new space will include state-of-the-art lighting sourced from Italy, as well as cosmetic changes in flooring and paint.

Levy said the gallery’s inventory remains open for perusal via his website and by appointment in the interim.

“For the time being, I’m working out of a storage facility – if people want to see things they find on the website, I’m happy to meet them there,” Levy said. “For smaller things, I can meet down in Manhattan.

“We’re not closed, the website is always open. I’ve been meeting people and driving things to client’s homes. We’ve done that in the past, but now that clients don’t have the opportunity to see it in person, if they see something on the site they like, I put it in the car and off I go. There are ways to do it with social distancing.”

On account of the opening timeline and retail restrictions, Levy plans on a cold opening when the renovations are complete.

“Once things are really open again, we’ll have a big gallery opening. That may not be until 2021,” he said.

For additional information, www.levygalleries.com or 212-628-7088.