- Year built
- 1922
- Type
- Condominium
- Landmark
- No
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2025
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,200
- Listing discount
- 4.8%
- Recorded sales
- 43
- On record
- 2003–2025
171 West 57th Street is a 1922 building by Warren & Wetmore — the firm behind Grand Central Terminal and a long roster of New York's most distinguished structures — standing directly across from Carnegie Hall on the block that the market now calls Billionaires' Row. Built as a hotel and converted to condominium ownership in 1999, The Briarcliffe offers something genuinely scarce on this stretch: a pre-war, name-architect building held in condominium form rather than as a co-op.
That distinction is the building's core advantage. West 57th Street is dominated at one end by the new supertall condominiums and at the other by pre-war co-ops with strict boards; The Briarcliffe sits between them — a boutique, 35-unit building with the masonry character and proportion of its 1922 origins and the ownership flexibility of a condominium. The Carnegie Hall location puts it at the cultural heart of Midtown, one block from Central Park and steps from the 57th Street subway lines, with the city's marquee concert hall as its across-the-street neighbor.
For buyers, the proposition is specific: a Warren & Wetmore pre-war address on Billionaires' Row, with condominium financing latitude and ownership freedom, in an intimate building of just 35 homes.
Architecture and unit composition
The Briarcliffe is a thirteen-story pre-war masonry building, designed by Warren & Wetmore in the dignified register the firm brought to its hotel and residential work of the period. Built as a hotel, its bones translated naturally to condominium living when it converted in 1999 — the floor plates, ceiling heights, and window proportions of a quality 1920s structure, modernized for ownership.
The 35 residences span thirteen stories in a boutique-building mix, with the most desirable upper floors capturing light and, on higher lines, open city outlooks toward Central Park and the Midtown skyline. As a former-hotel conversion, layouts vary by line and floor, which gives the building individuality and rewards close evaluation of a specific apartment's flow and exposure. Pre-war construction means solid masonry and the proportion that distinguishes these buildings from their glass-tower neighbors.
Building operations
The Briarcliffe operates as a full-service condominium: an attended lobby with a doorman, elevator service, and building storage, scaled appropriately to a 35-unit boutique building. Common charges reflect the staffing, the building's operating costs, and reserve, while real estate taxes are billed per unit in the standard condominium structure.
The condominium format is the building's operating advantage over its co-op neighbors. Financing is flexible — condominiums do not impose the financing caps common at West 57th Street co-ops. Purchases clear through a right-of-first-refusal rather than a co-op board package and interview. Pied-à-terre, trust, LLC, and investment ownership are customary, and subletting is materially freer than at the surrounding cooperatives. For buyers who want a pre-war Billionaires' Row address without a board, that combination is the heart of the building's case; specific house rules on pets and leasing are confirmed through the managing agent and the condominium's governing documents.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $38,225/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $91
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into 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 closings 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 14, 2026 | 6B | 4 BR · 4.5 BA · 2,800 sf | $5,775,000 | $2,063/sf | -2.9% |
| Jan 29, 2026 | 11B | 3 BR · 3 BA | $2,300,000 | -14.8% | |
| Dec 30, 2025 | 3A | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 1,945 sf | $2,350,000 | $1,208/sf | -6.0% |
| Mar 20, 2025 | 10A | 1,948 sf | $1,781,937.5 | $915/sf | off-mkt |
| Dec 19, 2024 | 8C | 3 BR · 3 BA · 2,578 sf | $2,700,000 | $1,047/sf | -3.5% |
| Jan 26, 2024 | 4A | 1,948 sf | $2,850,000 | $1,463/sf | off-mkt |
| Oct 5, 2023 | 10C | 4 BR · 3 BA | $4,275,000 | -1.7% | |
| Jun 7, 2021 | 10C | 4 BR · 2,578 sf | $2,744,820 | $1,065/sf | -5.2% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $1,200/sf across 3 sales. Median listing discount 4.8% 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 1-01010-7504) 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
The reason to buy here is pre-war character plus condominium freedom on Billionaires' Row. You get a Warren & Wetmore building across from Carnegie Hall, one block from Central Park, with the financing latitude, ownership flexibility, and lighter purchase process that only a condominium provides — a rare combination on a block of co-ops and glass towers. The trade-offs are scale and amenities: this is a 35-unit boutique building with attended-lobby service rather than the spa-and-pool amenity decks of the new supertalls, and as a former-hotel conversion, layouts vary, so the specific apartment matters. Buyers who prize a pre-war address, condominium flexibility, and a central cultural location over a long amenity roster will find the building well-matched.
What to know if you’re selling
A resale at The Briarcliffe sells on three differentiators: the Warren & Wetmore pre-war provenance, the condominium structure, and the Carnegie Hall / Central Park location. The condominium format is itself a selling point — it widens the buyer pool to international, pied-à-terre, and investment purchasers who cannot or will not navigate a co-op board, and it delivers a faster, more predictable closing. Pricing belongs against the boutique pre-war and converted condominium set on West 57th Street, with floor level, light, and exposure driving the spread. Presentation should foreground the pre-war proportion and the marquee location. A resale clears through a right-of-first-refusal rather than a board process, and marketing to the flexibility-minded buyer this building attracts is the path to a strong, clean sale.
Comparable buildings
If you're evaluating 171 West 57th Street, these nearby West 57th Street and Central Park South buildings make a useful comparison set:
- 146 West 57th Street — Metropolitan Tower, a 57th Street condominium
- 111 West 57th Street — Steinway Tower, the supertall condominium
- 100 West 58th Street — Carnegie House, near Carnegie Hall
- 200 Central Park South — park-facing full-service building
- 210 Central Park South — park-front co-op near Columbus Circle
- 322 West 57th Street — the Sheffield, a 57th Street condominium
The Roebling Team at The Briarcliffe
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in West 57th Street, Central Park South, and the Billionaires' Row market — including the boutique pre-war condominiums that offer character and flexibility the supertalls cannot. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating The Briarcliffe deserve building-specific intelligence: the Warren & Wetmore architecture, the condominium structure, and where a given line sits against the block.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 171 West 57th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Central Park South — read The Roebling Team Guide to Central Park South.
Get the full picture on this building.
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A broker’s honest answer to three questions — what your apartment would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — for your apartment at The Briarcliffe, in this market. Put together by a person, not an algorithm.