117 East 72nd Street
117 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1014070008 · BIN 1042843
- Year built
- 1928
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- Designated
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 4BR+ median
- $8.3M
- Recent range
- $3.4M – $13.3M
- Listing discount
- 5.9%
- Recorded transfers
- 17
117 East 72nd Street is the kind of building that defines old-guard Lenox Hill — a quiet, white-glove pre-war cooperative built in 1928 on the prime block between Park and Lexington, with just twenty apartments across fifteen stories. That ratio is the whole story: floor-through and near-full-floor homes, an intimate shareholder body, and a service level scaled to a far larger building but reserved for a few dozen households.
It is a serious co-op, run conservatively in the manner of the East Side's most established addresses. The building does not permit financing — purchases are all-cash — and subletting is not allowed, both signals of a stable, owner-occupied house oriented to long-term residents. For buyers who want grand pre-war proportions, full-floor privacy, and a discreet, professionally staffed building a block from Park Avenue, this is exactly the profile.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a restrained pre-war masonry house, designed to sit comfortably within the protected, low-rise streetscape of the Upper East Side Historic District. Its understatement is deliberate — this is a building that announces itself through service and proportion rather than ornament.
Inside, the appeal is space. With only twenty apartments over fifteen floors, the homes run large: full-floor and half-floor layouts with the entry galleries, separated entertaining and bedroom wings, high ceilings, and hardwood floors that define the era at its best. Light improves with height, and the full-floor lines enjoy multiple exposures and the privacy of a private landing. The result is a building of genuinely grand apartments at a deliberately small scale.
Building operations
117 East 72nd Street is a full-service, white-glove cooperative. A 24-hour doorman, a live-in resident manager, and a full professional staff run the building, with dedicated security coverage and private storage among the practical amenities. The cooperative is pet-friendly. Its financial posture is conservative and traditional: the building does not permit financing — purchases close all-cash — and subletting is not allowed. A 2% flip tax is paid by the purchaser at closing. Purchases are reviewed by a board, and the building is run firmly for owner-occupancy.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $38,388/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $160
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Recent sales
Recent transfers 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 | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 2026 | 2W | 4 BR · 3 BA | $3,350,000 | -16.1% |
| Jul 22, 2024 | 6 | 6 BR · 4.5 BA | $13,276,750 | -5.2% |
| Jun 1, 2023 | 3E | 3 BR · 3 BA | $4,000,000 | -5.9% |
| Dec 19, 2022 | 2W | 4 BR · 3 BA | $3,100,000 | -11.3% |
| Oct 20, 2022 | 3W | 4 BR · 3 BA | $3,950,000 | -9.2% |
| Jun 6, 2019 | 5E | 4 BR · 3 BA | $5,200,000 | +0.0% |
| Apr 3, 2019 | 9 | 6 BR · 6 BA | $10,000,000 | -20.0% |
| May 10, 2018 | 5W | 3 BR · 3 BA | $3,400,000 | -29.2% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2018): a median $1,708/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 9.2% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2006 | 5E | $3,375,000 |
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 1-01407-0008) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
Plan around two realities. First, this is an all-cash building — financing is not permitted — so buyers must be prepared to close without a mortgage and to demonstrate the liquidity and post-closing reserves a conservative board expects. Second, subletting is not allowed, so the apartment must serve as a residence, not an income property. A 2% flip tax is due from the buyer at closing.
What you get in return is scarcity and quality: a full-floor pre-war on a Park-block corner of Lenox Hill, in a discreet, deeply staffed building. Inventory is minimal, so when a home surfaces it warrants a prepared, well-documented offer. We help buyers assemble a board package that meets the building's exacting standard, evaluate the specific floor and exposure, and benchmark the ask against the limited comparable Lenox Hill set.
What to know if you’re selling
The marketing core is exclusivity: a twenty-unit white-glove co-op, full-floor living, all-cash, on one of the best blocks in Lenox Hill. That profile speaks directly to a specific, well-capitalized buyer who values privacy and proportion over amenity density, and it differentiates the apartment sharply from the larger, more transactional co-ops nearby.
The all-cash requirement narrows the buyer pool, which makes targeted positioning and patient pricing essential — the right buyer pays a premium for exactly this combination, but reaching them takes a focused effort rather than broad exposure. We market to that pool directly, present the board's standards and the all-cash, no-sublet posture up front to keep deals intact, and manage the cooperative's review toward a clean closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 117 East 72nd Street, also evaluate nearby Lenox Hill and East 72nd Street pre-war cooperatives:
- 19 East 72nd Street — Rosario Candela pre-war co-op near Fifth Avenue
- 4 East 72nd Street — pre-war cooperative off Fifth Avenue
- 45 East 72nd Street — full-service East 72nd Street co-op
- 50 East 72nd Street — pre-war cooperative near Park Avenue
- 114 East 72nd Street — pre-war co-op directly across the street
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at 117 East 72nd Street?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 117 East 72nd Street would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.