12 West 72nd Street (The Oliver Cromwell)
12 West 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023
Lincoln Square, Upper West Side
BBL 1011240042 · BIN 1028619
- Year built
- 1927
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 172
- Floors
- 30
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Pets permitted under the cooperative's house rules
- Subletting
- Permitted subject to board approval and the co-op's sublet terms — confirm at offer stage
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $748K
- Recent range
- $350K – $6M
- Listing discount
- 3.7%
- Recorded transfers
- 184
The Oliver Cromwell is an Emery Roth tower — and on the Upper West Side, that is a meaningful pedigree. Roth designed many of the neighborhood's defining prewar apartment houses, and at 12 West 72nd Street, completed in 1927, he produced a slender 30-story Italian Renaissance tower steps from Central Park and directly across the street from the Dakota. The building is a contributing structure in the Upper West Side / Central Park West Historic District, and its location — the West 72nd Street corridor between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue — is among the most desirable on the West Side.
Roth's design is classic for him: a buff-brick façade rising from a rusticated three-story stone base, with terra-cotta window surrounds and a setback silhouette that gives the tower its height and grace. Originally built as an apartment hotel, the building was converted to a cooperative in 1984 and has operated as a full-service prewar co-op since. The combination of a recognizable architect, a Central Park–block location across from the Dakota, and prewar tower scale gives the building a durable identity in the market.
The apartments range across studios, one-bedrooms, and larger combined homes, with park sight lines from the upper floors. For buyers who want a Roth prewar co-op on a Central Park block at a more accessible entry point than the great Central Park West buildings, the Oliver Cromwell is a natural target.
Architecture and unit composition
The building's apartment-hotel origins shape its unit mix: a substantial number of smaller and mid-size homes alongside larger combined units, distributed across 30 stories. Published unit counts cluster around 172 apartments; buyers should treat the precise figure as one to confirm in diligence, but the building is unambiguously a large, dense prewar tower rather than a boutique building.
Roth's setback tower form means the upper floors enjoy strong light and, on the appropriate lines, Central Park views over the low-rise streetscape between the building and the park. The buff-brick-and-stone envelope is protected by the historic district. Renovation condition, floor, and exposure — particularly park sight lines — are the primary value drivers between units.
Building operations
The Oliver Cromwell runs as a full-service prewar cooperative: 24-hour doorman, live-in superintendent, central laundry, bicycle storage, and private storage rooms. As a co-op, the building is governed by a board that reviews purchasers and sets house rules and financial requirements. Buyers should expect a standard prewar UWS co-op board package and interview, and should confirm the building's financing limit, any flip tax, and the precise pied-à-terre and sublet terms with the managing agent at offer stage — these are board-set financial policies that vary by building and that we confirm on every transaction.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $68,619/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $38
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
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
As a cooperative, the Oliver Cromwell is evaluated on price per room rather than price per square foot. The building's broad unit mix — from studios to combined multi-bedroom homes — produces a correspondingly broad pricing range, so the right comparable is always the same room count and unit type. Recent listings in the building have spanned roughly the high-three-million-dollar range for substantial mid-floor homes up to the higher single-digit millions for top-floor and combined units, with park sight lines and renovation level the dividing lines. Anchor pricing to in-building transfers of the same room count and to closely matched Central Park West–adjacent prewar co-op comparables.
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 | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2026 | 14ABC | 4 BR · 4 BA | $4,150,000 | -1.1% | |
| Aug 14, 2025 | 7E | 4 BR · 3.5 BA | $3,600,000 | -4.0% | |
| Jun 12, 2025 | 10D | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,100,000 | -4.3% | |
| May 14, 2025 | 4GH | 2 BR · 2 BA | $985,000 | -1.4% | |
| Feb 24, 2025 | 2FGH | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,700 sf | $2,325,000 | $1,368/sf | -21.2% |
| Jan 29, 2025 | 11A | 1 BR · 1 BA | $748,000 | -3.5% | |
| Jan 17, 2025 | 20B | 3 BR · 3 BA | $6,000,000 | +0.0% | |
| Apr 26, 2024 | 7H | 1 BR · 1 BA | $685,000 | -2.0% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2025): a median $1,205/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 3.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 2022 | 12B | $550,000 |
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 1-01124-0042) 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
You are buying a Roth co-op on a park block. The architect, the Central Park location across from the Dakota, and the prewar tower scale are the building's enduring appeal — and the reason it holds value.
Match the comparable to the unit. With a wide mix from studios to combined homes, price against same-room-count in-building and CPW-adjacent prewar co-op sales, not the building average.
Plan for the board process. Co-op purchase means a board package, financial review, and interview. Build the timeline and documentation into your plan.
Confirm the financial policy at offer stage. Financing limit, flip tax, and pied-à-terre and sublet terms are board-set; confirm them with the managing agent before committing.
Mansion tax may apply. At the building's higher price points the $1M and above mansion-tax thresholds can apply. Run pricing through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with Roth and the park block. The architect and the across-from-the-Dakota, steps-from-Central-Park location are the headline; foreground them.
Price on rooms, floor, and views. Room count, floor, exposure, park sight lines, and renovation level drive the building's spread. Price to the relevant same-room-count comparables.
Present a board-ready buyer. Co-op sales hinge on a buyer who clears the board cleanly; qualify accordingly and plan for a co-op closing timeline.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 12 West 72nd Street, also evaluate:
- 105 West 70th Street — prewar Upper West Side co-op near Central Park
- 120 West 70th Street — full-service building in the West 70s
- 155 West 68th Street — Lincoln Square–area building near Central Park
- 10 West 86th Street — prewar co-op a park block uptown
- 165 West 66th Street — full-service building near Lincoln Center
- 50 West 66th Street — Upper West Side building near Central Park
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper West Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper West 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 The Oliver Cromwell?
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 The Oliver Cromwell 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.