- Year built
- 1920
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 24
- Floors
- 6
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted per listing records; the purchase application asks applicants to specify pets. Confirm the house rules
- Financing
- No maximum financing percentage appears in the documents on file. Bank financing requires a mortgage commitment letter and three original recognition agreements with the board package
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
- $1,629
- Listing discount
- 0.0%
- Recorded sales
- 18
- On record
- 2004–2025
This is one of the small number of Chelsea loft cooperatives whose entire legal history is legible from beginning to end, and the story it tells is the story of how downtown loft living was made lawful.
In December 1977 the building traded from one holding company to another. Two months later it was acquired by an affiliate of Lofts For Living, one of the sponsors that industrialized the late-1970s loft conversion in Manhattan. On July 11, 1978 the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals granted a variance for the property under Calendar Nos. 111-78 BZ and 112-78A — the building sat in an M1-5 manufacturing district, where residential occupancy was not permitted as of right, and the variance is what made the apartments possible. The offering plan was presented the following year, the cooperative corporation took title in June 1979, and J-51 tax benefits began on July 1, 1979. The sequence — acquire, obtain the variance, convert, secure J-51, sell shares — is the template, executed cleanly here.
What the sequence produced is a building of 24 apartments, four to a floor across six floors, in 44,000 square feet on a 90-foot lot. That geometry is why the building trades the way it does: four units per floor on a 90-foot frontage yields lofts of real width rather than the deep, narrow single-window plans that dominate 25-foot Chelsea conversions. Ceiling heights run roughly ten and a half to eleven feet, and the industrial fabric — timber beams, oak columns, exposed brick, oversized windows — survives across the apartment stock rather than in one or two showpieces.
Two structural features are genuinely uncommon. The first-floor apartments, 1A through 1D, were built as duplexes with work rooms in the cellar. The sixth-floor apartments, PHA through PHD, each received a mezzanine roughly a third of the apartment's floor area and an exclusive-use portion of the roof, with a further thousand square feet of roof set aside as a shared tenants' recreation area. Buyers who know this corridor understand what a mezzanine and a private roof allocation are worth in a six-story building with nothing above it.
The third distinguishing fact is boring and important: the abatement is long gone. J-51 benefits burned off by the mid-1990s. Nothing about the current maintenance line is being flattered by a tax benefit about to expire, which is not true of every downtown conversion of this generation.
Architecture and unit composition
Six floors of Class III non-fireproof loft construction, 90 feet wide and 82 feet deep, with a cellar. The 1979 conversion installed a new 2,000-pound self-service passenger elevator inside an existing masonry shaft, wet-sprinklered the public corridors behind a one-hour-rated enclosure, built a new metal-pan stair from cellar to roof plus a second cellar egress stair directly to the street, and added a masonry refuse chute and cellar compactor. The public halls were finished in wood.
The apartment plan is four units per floor, floors one through six:
- Floors 1 (1A–1D) — duplex apartments with cellar work rooms, restricted at conversion to artists' joint living-work quarters or conforming commercial and manufacturing use
- Floors 2 through 5 (A–D lines) — full loft floors, four to a floor
- Floor 6 (PHA–PHD) — each with a mezzanine equal to roughly one third of the apartment's floor area, and an exclusive-use portion of the roof
Combinations have happened. Department of Buildings filings record a merger of apartments 5A and 5B, and a series of penthouse renovations on the sixth floor. Buyers should expect the marketed unit count to run below 24.
Building operations
The cooperative has run a steady capital program that is legible in the Department of Buildings record. Facade repairs with sidewalk sheds and scaffold in 2003 and 2005. Building-wide automatic smoke and heat detection with a sprinkler fire alarm system in 2016. A full exterior restoration in 2019 — lintel and sill replacement, brick and masonry repairs, parapet cladding, railing and roof-access ladder installation, and metal fascia repair. A lobby and corridor renovation in 2019 covering flooring, doors, air conditioning and new lighting on every floor. A gas meter room built out in 2020. More recent filings cover sidewalk vault repair, gas piping and sprinkler work.
Amenities are proportionate to a 24-unit house: the shared roof recreation area, an intercom, an elevator, cellar storage, and in-apartment laundry permitted by the lease. There is no doorman and no gym. The conversion budget contemplated a non-resident superintendent handling public-area cleaning, heating and minor repairs; confirm current staffing with the managing agent.
The conversion: variance, artists' quarters, and J-51
Three legal facts govern this building, and all three are documented rather than inferred.
The BSA variance. The Board of Standards and Appeals approved the conversion on July 11, 1978 under Calendar Nos. 111-78 BZ and 112-78A. The block was M1-5 at the time. It is C6-2A today, a contextual commercial district in which residential use is permitted as of right — so the zoning constraint that necessitated the variance no longer exists in the same form.
Joint living-work quarters for artists. Under the terms of the 1978 BSA resolution, apartments 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D may be used only for conforming commercial or manufacturing uses, or as joint living-work quarters for artists. The resolution did not require purchasers of those four apartments to obtain artist certification from the Department of Cultural Affairs, but the sponsor required affidavits of intent to occupy them as artists' quarters, and the proprietary lease as drafted carries the same restriction. The plan itself notes that the proprietary lease may be amended by shareholder vote. Given the subsequent rezoning to C6-2A, whether and how the 1978 restriction still binds those four apartments is a question for counsel — the current certificate of occupancy and the proprietary lease as amended govern, and both should be pulled at offer stage if a first-floor duplex is in play.
J-51. The offering plan projected that benefits would begin July 1, 1979, with exemption running to June 30, 1991 and abatement calculated on a certified reasonable cost estimated at $210,000. The Department of Finance roll records what actually happened: an abatement initiated in the second quarter of 1979 on a twelve-year term at 90 percent, on a certified alteration cost of $492,100 — more than double the plan's estimate — plus a separate twelve-year exemption initiated in 1980, with benefits carried on the roll through tax year 1994. Where the plan and the roll disagree, the roll is the record of what was granted. Either way the benefit is fully expired and has been for three decades.
Loft Law. The building was legalized by variance in 1978 and cooperatively owned from 1979, before Article 7-C took effect in 1982, and no Department of Buildings filing on the property carries a Loft Board designation. Interim Multiple Dwelling status does not appear to apply.
Policy framework
The policy stack here is unusual in shape, and worth reading closely before you make an offer.
Primary residence only. The corporation compliance letter that every purchaser signs states that the apartment will be used solely as a primary residence. This is a primary-residence house — pied-à-terre buyers should look elsewhere.
Board package and interview. One original and six copies of the package go to the managing agent, with a purchase application per purchaser, the shareholder's application to transfer shares, a $50 per-applicant credit inquiry fee and a $350 application fee. After verification the package goes to the board and an interview is scheduled. Closing takes place at the managing agent's office no sooner than one week after approval.
Financing. No maximum financing percentage appears in the documents on file — a live question, since most Chelsea loft co-ops publish one. If financing, the package requires the mortgage application, the loan commitment letter and three original recognition agreements. Establish the current financing ceiling and any post-closing liquidity standard with the managing agent before you write an offer; neither is published.
Fee stack. No percentage flip tax appears in the documents on file. At closing the seller pays a $750 transfer fee to the managing agent, a $2,000 administration fee to the corporation, a $500 non-refundable move-out fee and a $500 refundable move-out deposit. The purchaser pays $150 for recognition-agreement processing if financing, a $500 non-refundable move-in fee and a $500 refundable move-in deposit. These amounts come from the board package on file and should be reconfirmed.
Subletting, trusts and entities. A sublet policy and an alterations policy both exist and are referenced in the documents; their terms are not stated in what is on file. Trust and LLC ownership is likewise unaddressed in the documents on file. In a 24-unit primary-residence cooperative, assume the board takes these case by case and ask directly.
In-unit laundry. Permitted by the proprietary lease without prior written consent. Worth knowing when comparing against buildings that require board approval and a wet-over-dry review for every machine.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $1,621/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $6
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →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.
How to read this, and where it comes from
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. City record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
The building trades as a Chelsea loft cooperative rather than as a conventional prewar co-op, and it prices on the loft variables: ceiling height, width, light, and the presence or absence of a mezzanine and roof allocation. Sixth-floor penthouse units with mezzanines and private roof carry the building's premium; mid-floor lofts trade in the corridor's loft-co-op band; the first-floor duplexes are a distinct product whose pricing reflects the use restriction and the cellar space. The absence of an abatement, the absence of a percentage flip tax and the presence of in-unit laundry rights all read favorably against comparable West 17th and West 18th Street conversions. Unit-level transaction history is maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence.
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2025 | 2A | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,400 sf | $2,335,000 | $1,668/sf | +1.5% |
| Jun 27, 2025 | 4B | 3 BR · 2 BA · 1,750 sf | $2,850,000 | $1,629/sf | +0.0% |
| May 19, 2025 | 3B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,751 sf | $1,840,000 | $1,051/sf | -3.2% |
| Dec 23, 2022 | 4B | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,700 sf | $2,500,000 | $1,471/sf | -3.7% |
| May 27, 2022 | 3D | 3 BR · 2 BA · 1,500 sf | $2,600,000 | $1,733/sf | +13.0% |
| Sep 24, 2020 | 3B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,600 sf | $1,649,000 | $1,031/sf | -3.0% |
| Feb 4, 2014 | PHC | 2 BR · 2,408 sf | $5,250,000 | $2,180/sf | -1.9% |
| May 31, 2012 | 5C | 3 BR · 1,770 sf | $1,895,000 | $1,071/sf | +0.0% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $1,629/sf across 3 sales. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
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 1-00793-0020) 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
Underwrite the apartment line, not the building average. A first-floor duplex with a cellar work room, a mid-floor loft, and a sixth-floor mezzanine penthouse with roof rights are three different products in the same corporation.
Pull the certificate of occupancy if you are buying 1A through 1D. The 1978 artists'-quarters restriction is real, it is written into the proprietary lease, and it interacts with a zoning change that came later. Your attorney should resolve it before contract.
Establish the unwritten policy stack early. Financing ceiling, post-closing liquidity, sublet terms, and the board's posture on trusts and guarantors are none of them published. Run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator against a conservative assumption, then confirm with the managing agent. Note that primary residence is a screen rather than a formality — a signed compliance letter to that effect is part of the closing file.
Ask for the underlying mortgage and reserve position. The 1979 blanket mortgage was $725,000 with a balloon and has been refinanced several times since. The current underlying loan, its maturity, and the reserve balance are the numbers that matter most in a 24-unit house, and they live in the audited financials.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the physical facts that survive diligence — ceiling height, column and beam condition, window count and exposure, and on the sixth floor, mezzanine square footage and roof allocation.
Document the building's capital record. The 2016 sprinkler and detection installation, the 2019 exterior restoration and the 2019 lobby and corridor renovation are exactly the work a buyer's attorney looks for and a small co-op often fails to surface.
Be plain about the fee stack. Flat fees rather than a percentage flip tax is a selling point in a market where 1 to 3 percent flip taxes are common. Say so, with the amounts. And screen buyers for package strength before accepting an offer — this is a small primary-residence cooperative with a real interview. Run the Renovation Cost Calculator if the apartment is in estate condition.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 133 West 17th Street, also evaluate:
- 121 West 17th Street — the closest true comparable: a cooperative on the same tax block, converted in the same era
- 154 West 18th Street — another Block 793 cooperative conversion, through the block to the north
- 113 West 17th Street — the condominium alternative on the same block
- 151 West 17th Street — condominium a few doors west, toward Seventh Avenue
- 144 West 18th Street — mid-block condominium conversion on the same block
- 100 West 18th Street — Sixth Avenue-corner condominium on Block 793
- 63 West 17th Street — the same street, east of Sixth Avenue, at the Flatiron edge
- 111 West 16th Street — one block south, similar boutique scale
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Chelsea — read The Roebling Team Guide to Chelsea.
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.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent.
Considering a move at 133 West 17th Street?
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