- Year built
- 1960
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 183
- Landmark
- No
1250 Third Avenue belongs to a specific and frequently overlooked tier of Upper East Side housing: the large postwar cooperative completed at the turn of the 1960s, when the avenues east of Park were rebuilding from a generation of tenement and elevated-rail-era stock into doorman elevator inventory. Completed in 1960 at the corner of East 72nd Street, the building sits in the Lenox Hill stretch of Third Avenue — a corridor that, after the Third Avenue El was demolished in the mid-1950s, filled rapidly with exactly this kind of mid-rise residential tower. (Its near neighbor, the landmark Tower East of 1962, set the design template for the genre two blocks south.)
The building's significance is structural rather than architectural. With roughly 183 apartments across 20 stories, 1250 Third is one of the larger cooperatives in its immediate neighborhood, and that scale defines its character: a deep, diversified unit mix, a steady internal resale market, and the operating economics of a substantial shareholder base. For buyers, this is the practical heart of the Upper East Side — full service at a price the prewar avenues cannot approach.
The corner siting is its everyday advantage. East 72nd Street is one of the principal cross-town spines of the East Side, and Third Avenue here is dense with restaurants, cafés, grocers, and neighborhood retail at street level. The Second Avenue subway at 72nd Street is two blocks east, the Lexington Avenue lines two blocks west, and Central Park is a roughly ten-minute walk across town — a confluence of transit, shopping, and parkland that few value-tier addresses can match.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a representative example of early-1960s Upper East Side construction: a masonry elevator apartment house organized for efficiency and volume rather than the ceremonial grandeur of the 1920s avenue cooperatives. Ceiling heights, room proportions, and layouts reflect the postwar luxury norm — generally functional, light-filled apartments with practical kitchens and baths rather than the formal entry galleries and servants' wings of the prewar era.
The approximately 183 apartments span a range of configurations, from studios and one-bedrooms appropriate to single buyers and pied-à-terre owners through two- and three-bedroom family layouts on the upper floors. Higher-floor apartments in a 20-story building of this footprint gain open exposures and light; specific line-by-line layouts, square footages, and renovation histories vary apartment to apartment, as is always the case in a large postwar co-op.
Building operations
1250 Third Avenue operates as a full-service postwar cooperative with an attended lobby and doorman service, elevators, on-site superintendence, and central laundry. The large shareholder base supports the operating budget of a full-service building while spreading fixed costs across roughly 183 units — a structural advantage of scale that often translates into competitive monthly carrying costs relative to smaller buildings.
As a Lenox Hill cooperative of this era, the building follows the standard board posture for the tier: a purchase package and board interview, with policies on financing, sublet, and pets set by the board. Buyers obtain the proprietary lease, house rules, and recent financial statements in the course of any transaction, and we walk clients through them as part of the diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $169,359/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $265,654/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $77 – $121
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The facade passed its last inspection with no required repairs — nothing to budget for here, and no facade assessment on the horizon for roughly five years.
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
Sales context at 1250 Third Avenue:
- With roughly 183 apartments, the building turns over at a steady cadence — a larger postwar co-op of this scale typically produces a healthy number of closings per year across all unit types.
- Pricing reflects the Third Avenue mid-block value position: studios and one-bedrooms at the accessible end of Upper East Side co-op pricing, with two- and three-bedroom apartments and higher-floor lines commanding premiums for space, light, and exposure.
- Per-square-foot pricing typically runs below the prewar Fifth, Park, and Madison Avenue cooperatives a few blocks west.
For apartment-specific recorded sales, see the building's live sales feed; the figures above are general guidance, not specific trades.
What to know if you’re buying
Scale is the value engine. A large postwar co-op spreads costs across a deep shareholder base, which tends to support competitive maintenance relative to small buildings.
This is full-service living at a Third Avenue basis. You get the convenience and staffing of a doorman building without paying the Fifth/Park/Madison premium.
The corner location is the everyday case. Third Avenue retail at the door, the Second Avenue subway two blocks east, the Lexington lines two blocks west, and Central Park a short walk across town.
The unit mix is broad. Layouts run from studios to family three-bedrooms, so define your space and light priorities early and compare lines carefully.
Mid-century, not prewar. Proportions and ceiling heights reflect 1960 construction; set expectations accordingly versus the prewar avenue product.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with location and value. Full-service Upper East Side living, two-subway transit access, and a price-per-foot below the prewar avenues is the pitch.
Pricing requires line-level comparable analysis. With a deep unit mix, floor altitude, exposure, and renovation quality drive value more than building-wide averages.
The buyer pool is broad. First-time Upper East Side buyers, downsizers, and pied-à-terre seekers all shop this tier.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. Plan for roughly 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 1250 Third Avenue, also evaluate nearby Lenox Hill inventory:
- 1230 Third Avenue — Tower East; Emery Roth & Sons 1962, mid-century co-op two blocks south
- 1218 Third Avenue — postwar Lenox Hill co-op nearby
- 200 East 74th Street — postwar Lenox Hill co-op peer
The Roebling Team at 1250 Third Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because postwar co-op buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — unit mix, board culture, transactional mechanics, and value positioning — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 1250 Third Avenue, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
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