170 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers)
170 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10023
Lincoln Square, Upper West Side
BBL 1011587505 · BIN 1070721
- Year built
- 1961
- Type
- Condop
- Units
- 475
- Floors
- 30
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Pet-friendly with board approval; some restrictions — verify current house rules
- Financing
- Up to roughly 70% (30% minimum down) — confirm current policy with the managing agent
170 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) sales history: 433 recorded transfers
Every recorded sale at this building, 2000–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- Studio median
- $530K
- Recent range
- $430K – $1.9M
- Listing discount
- 2.2%
- Recorded transfers
- 433
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 170 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) 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.
170 West End Avenue is one of the eastern Lincoln Towers buildings, fronting both West End and Amsterdam Avenues near West 68th Street. Lincoln Towers is the Upper West Side's great post-war value engine, built in the early 1960s by William Zeckendorf's Webb & Knapp as the residential component of Robert Moses' Lincoln Square Urban Renewal Project — the same vast clearance that produced Lincoln Center. The site was the San Juan Hill neighborhood (the blocks that stood in for the film version of West Side Story before demolition); I.M. Pei's early concept for the parcel gave way, on economics, to S.J. Kessler & Sons' standardized slabs.
What buyers have figured out is what the critics dismissed: the complex's private, professionally maintained open space cannot be reproduced anywhere in the Lincoln Center orbit, and the apartments behind the plain facades are large, light, and efficiently planned, many with cantilevered balconies and flexible, combinable layouts. As Lincoln Square gentrified and the Riverside South towers rose across Freedom Place, the complex's position shifted from urban-renewal artifact to structurally underpriced full-service housing a few blocks from Lincoln Center.
The ownership history is its own New York story. The MacArthur Foundation put the complex up for sale in 1984; on May 1, 1987 all eight buildings converted to cooperative ownership, insiders bought at a deep discount to market, and the profitable insider flips that followed drew press attention. The correction that matters for buyers and their attorneys: despite the "170 West End Condominium" label in the tax record, apartments here trade as co-op shares — the condominium is only the legal wrapper around the cooperative corporation.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises 30 floors in brick with aluminum-sash windows and cantilevered balconies on many lines, set on the complex's landscaped superblock and carrying a second address on Amsterdam Avenue. The roughly 475 apartments run from studios through large combinations, prized for flexible, combinable layouts, with dining alcoves, big windows, and generous closets. Upper-floor and western lines carry Hudson River and skyline outlooks. Climate systems vary by line across the complex; buyers weighing HVAC should confirm the specific apartment, as central air is not universal across the eight addresses.
Building operations
Full-service: 24-hour doorman, concierge, a live-in resident manager, a fitness center/health club, an on-site parking garage with driveway, a children's playroom, a bike room, private storage, a central laundry, and a residents' lounge/community room, plus access to the Lincoln Towers Community Association's shared private grounds. There is no pool and no roof deck. Financing runs to roughly 70% and subletting is permitted after the first year with board approval — more flexible than classic pre-war West End Avenue co-ops. Maintenance inclusions cover core utilities per management-sourced records; confirm current inclusions, sublet terms, and any fees with the managing agent during diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $66,932/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $12
- Modeled exposure split equally across 475 units (the city tax-lot count). Not an assessed amount; co-op shareholders are typically charged by share allocation.
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).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- No Flip Tax
- Sublet policy
- Allowed after 1st year, then up to 2 years with Board approval, then case-by-case; sublet fee $8/share (yr1) rising to $12/share (yr5); security deposit 2 months maintenance
- Notable fees
- Buyer Processing Fee $700, Building Admin $350, Credit Report $125/applicant; Seller Closing Fee $850. 75% financing allowed
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2026 | 3E | 1 BR · 1 BA · 980 sf | $925,000 | $944/sf | -2.6% |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 1P | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,256 sf | $1,125,000 | $896/sf | -6.3% |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 9P | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,601,000 | +8.5% | |
| Jul 14, 2026 | 12C | 1 BA | $530,000 | -3.6% | |
| Jul 7, 2026 | 10P | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,520,000 | +9.0% | |
| Jun 10, 2026 | 30G | 1 BA | $650,000 | +0.0% | |
| May 19, 2026 | 2N | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,465,000 | +12.7% | |
| Feb 26, 2026 | 23E | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,100 sf | $917,500 | $834/sf | -5.9% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $947/sf (floor-adjusted) across 3 sales. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 1.7% 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.
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 1-01158-7505). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. 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.
Closed rents at 170 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers), last 36 months
| Size | Leases | Median / month |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 4 | $3,650 |
5 closed leases, October 2023 to September 2026. Most recent lease October 2025. Sizes with fewer than 2 leases are not shown. Compiled by The Roebling Team at Compass from closed leases.
At the recent median sale of $620K (29 transfers since 2024), a buyer putting 25% down would pay about $10,875 to close, or 1.8% of the price.
- Mansion tax: $0
- No mortgage recording tax or title insurance on a co-op purchase
- Attorneys, lender, building fees and filings: $10,875
Assumes a resale (the seller pays transfer taxes), a $4,500 attorney fee and a mortgage on the rest.
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What to know if you’re buying
This is a co-op, not a condo — regardless of the tax label. You are buying co-op shares in the cooperative corporation, with board approval and a proprietary lease. Your attorney should review the by-laws and the condop wrapper (on file with us) so the structure is priced and papered correctly.
The combinable layouts are a genuine feature. This building's flexible plans make it a good candidate for combinations and reconfigurations; underwrite the renovation math with the Renovation Cost Calculator.
The campus is the amenity. Private, secured, landscaped grounds shared only with the complex's residents. Weigh acreage against amenity-floor square footage; there is no equivalent nearby at this price tier.
The board framework is moderate by co-op standards. 70% financing and a documented sublet path make this more flexible than classic West End Avenue co-ops. Run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator before offering, and verify current policy with the managing agent.
Compare carry, not just price. Line up the true monthly against separately metered condos with the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator, and confirm the specific line's climate systems.
What to know if you’re selling
Sell the structural discount. Your buyer is cross-shopping Lincoln Square condos at materially higher per-foot pricing and higher taxes. The pitch is arithmetic: full service, private acreage, and Lincoln Center proximity at the lowest carry in the district.
Differentiate within the complex. This building's specifics — dual West End/Amsterdam frontage, flexible combinable layouts, health-club fitness center — are the points that separate 170 from its siblings.
Lead with light, line, and layout. River-outlook and open lines and combination-ready plans command the premium. Same-line history matters more than building averages, and we maintain it in the Research Library.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 170 West End Avenue, also evaluate:
- 165 West End Avenue and 150 West End Avenue — the adjacent Lincoln Towers siblings; the closest like-for-like alternatives
- 180 West End Avenue, 185 West End Avenue, and 205 West End Avenue — the western and northern siblings; same conversion, same campus, differing layouts and HVAC
- 140 West End Avenue and 160 West End Avenue — the southern siblings, the largest buildings with central HVAC
- 165 West 66th Street — full-service Lincoln Square co-op nearby; the non-campus alternative
- 220 Riverside Boulevard and 200 Riverside Boulevard — the condo alternative immediately west, at a higher price point and carry
More West End Avenue buildings
- 150 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) — 1963 condop by S.J. Kessler & Sons
- 160 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) — 1963 condop by S.J. Kessler & Sons
- 165 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) — 1959 condop by S.J. Kessler & Sons
- 180 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) — 1961 condop by S.J. Kessler & Sons
- 185 West End Avenue (Lincoln Towers) — 1962 condop by S.J. Kessler & Sons
- 200 West End Avenue — 2008 condominium by Costas Kondylis & Partners
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, transit, and pricing across West End Avenue — read The Roebling Team Guide to West End Avenue.
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. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
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