- Year built
- 1930
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 4
- Floors
- 7
- Landmark
- No
- Amenities
- Elevator, resident storage, outdoor entertainment space, in-unit washer/dryers, fireplaces, terraces/balconies per listing records
- Pets
- Permitted per listing records
- Financing
- 20 percent minimum down per listing records — verify at offer stage
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2025
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,794
- Listing discount
- 2.5%
- Recorded sales
- 11
- On record
- 2004–2025
The Ram Building is Gramercy's quietest form of trophy: a seven-story 1930 building between Park Avenue South and Irving Place holding only a handful of residences — four per city records — each occupying a full floor or more, reached by a key-locked elevator. In a neighborhood whose condo inventory skews either to large post-war buildings or to new development, a boutique loft condominium with this unit count is structurally scarce. There is no doorman, no amenity floor, and no lobby theater; the product is privacy, proportion, and a one-block walk to both Irving Place's row-house calm and the Park Avenue South corridor.
The building's market profile is carried by its penthouse — a duplex of roughly 2,715 square feet with a wood-burning fireplace and private outdoor space that listing records identify as the former home of Mets Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, who bought it in 2004. Its return to market in 2025, at an asking price just under $5 million, drew real-estate press coverage and reset the building's visible pricing. With so few units, trades here are events: years can pass between closings, and each one effectively re-marks the building.
For buyers, the structural point is the format. Full-floor living with elevator-into-the-apartment arrival is a townhouse alternative without townhouse maintenance — and at condominium transfer mechanics, without a co-op board interview. For sellers, the same scarcity cuts both ways: there is no same-building comparable set to lean on, so positioning is everything.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises seven stories on a mid-block site, a commercial-scale 1930 structure reworked into residences at the early-1990s conversion. City records count four residential units above the ground level; listing records count five units in total. The residences are loft-format — full-floor simplexes with the duplex penthouse above — with key-locked elevator access, in-unit laundry, fireplaces in select units, and private terraces or balconies on the upper floors per listing records. The original architect is not firmly documented in public records, and we decline to guess; what matters to the market is the conversion-era format. South light at the rear and the mid-block quiet of East 18th Street — one of Gramercy's lowest-traffic crosstown blocks — define the living experience.
Building operations
Self-service boutique mechanics: no doorman or staffed lobby, video-intercom entry, and a small condominium board of neighbors. Common charges run lean against the absence of staff; packages, renovations, and approvals move through a board measured in single digits. Buyers coming from full-service buildings should price the trade deliberately. Building documents are on file in The Roebling Research Library; policy specifics — sublet terms, alteration rules, any transfer fees — should be verified against the offering plan and by-laws during diligence.
Local Law 97
This building is below the 25,000 sq ft threshold at which LL97 emissions caps apply. No regulatory capital pressure from this law specifically, current or 2030.
See full Local Law 97 analysis →Recent sales
Recent closings at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2025 | 5 | 3 BR · 2 BA · 2,715 sf | $4,870,000 | $1,794/sf | -2.5% |
| Mar 6, 2017 | 4 | 3 BR · 2,100 sf | $2,575,000 | $1,226/sf | -4.6% |
| May 13, 2013 | 2 | 3 BR · 1,875 sf | $2,375,000 | $1,267/sf | -1.0% |
| Dec 9, 2009 | 3 | 3 BR · 2,200 sf | $1,795,000 | $816/sf | off-mkt |
| Sep 30, 2009 | 4 | 3 BR · 2,200 sf | $2,250,000 | $1,023/sf | +2.5% |
| Mar 21, 2007 | 1 | 3,102 sf | $2,000,000 | $645/sf | -14.9% |
| Sep 6, 2005 | 2 | 3 BR · 1,617 sf | $2,245,800 | $1,389/sf | off-mkt |
| Apr 1, 2005 | 5 | 1,367 sf | $2,445,000 | $1,789/sf | off-mkt |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $1,794/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 2.5% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2003 | 3 | $1,700,000 |
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-00874-7502) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
You are buying a format, not an amenity package. Full-floor privacy, keyed-elevator arrival, and a four-to-five-unit community — with no doorman and no staff. Decide honestly whether your household runs on services or on space; this building only offers the second.
Diligence the small-condo mechanics. With so few units, each owner carries a meaningful share of every capital decision — roof, elevator, facade. Your attorney should review the budget, reserves, and recent capital history closely; there is no large unit count to spread surprises across.
Confirm the unit count and any commercial component. City records and listing records differ (four versus five units). The offering plan settles it — review it before contract.
Verify the policy stack. The 20 percent minimum down convention, sublet terms, and any transfer fee are thinly documented publicly. We verify against the documents on file and the board during diligence.
Trades are rare — act accordingly. When a unit here is available, the next opportunity may be years out. Price discovery is thin; line up your diligence and financing so you can move at contract speed.
What to know if you’re selling
Position against formats, not buildings. Your comparable set is full-floor boutique lofts and small-townhouse alternatives across Gramercy and Flatiron — not the large condos on Park Avenue South. Build the pricing case from format scarcity.
The penthouse history is a building asset. The press-covered 2025 penthouse sale gives the building a visible pricing anchor and a recognizable story; use both with precision.
Prepare the building's paperwork early. Boutique condominiums get slower, more document-hungry diligence from buyers' attorneys precisely because the unit count is small. Having financials, by-laws, and capital history organized at listing protects your timeline — we stage this from the documents on file.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 117 East 18th Street, also evaluate:
- 50 Gramercy Park North — the park's boutique service-condo trophy; the full-service alternative
- 34 Gramercy Park East — the park's Victorian original; the character alternative with a board
- 45 East 22nd Street — the Flatiron glass tower; the amenity-and-views alternative
- 175 Fifth Avenue — the Flatiron Building's boutique condo neighbor corridor, for format cross-shoppers
- 130 East 18th Street (Gramercy Plaza) — the large post-war co-op alternative on the same block
- 215 East 19th Street (Gramercy Square) — the neighborhood's larger new-development condo alternative
- 142 East 16th Street — boutique loft-condo stock toward Union Square; the closest like-for-like format
- Irving Place row houses — the townhouse alternative the building's format competes against
The Roebling Team at The Ram Building
The Roebling Team at Compass works Gramercy, Flatiron, and the surrounding downtown corridors as a core practice area. We publish this building profile because boutique-condo buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — format scarcity, small-building diligence mechanics, and honest comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 117 East 18th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Gramercy — read The Roebling Team Guide to Gramercy.
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