181 East 65th Street (The Chatham)
181 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1014007501 · BIN 1042429
- Year built
- 2000
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 93
- Floors
- 32
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Pet-friendly (dogs permitted) under condominium rules
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $2,323
- Listing discount
- 6.7%
- Recorded sales
- 123
- On record
- 2003–2026
The Chatham is the most architecturally ambitious apartment tower on Third Avenue's Lenox Hill stretch — a Robert A.M. Stern-designed Post-Modern condominium completed in 2000 by The Related Companies, diagonally across the avenue from the landmark Manhattan House. Where the avenue's other buildings are functional postwar and contemporary towers, the Chatham is a composed piece of architecture: red brick with limestone trim, tall bay windows, an articulated base, and a rooftop water-tank enclosure detailed with quoins so that even the building's utilities read as design.
That pedigree matters in market terms. This was one of Stern's earlier Manhattan residential towers, executed while he was dean of the Yale School of Architecture, and it established a template — pre-war language rendered at contemporary scale — that Related and Stern would go on to repeat at much larger buildings across the city. Buyers who value the Stern name and the Post-Modern posture pay for it here, at a Lenox Hill address rather than a trophy-corridor one.
The building also occupies a notable site: it replaced the celebrated Sign of the Dove restaurant, itself built into a row of 19th-century structures associated with the historic Jones Wood Gardens. The Chatham is not landmarked and carries no historic designation — its distinction is architectural and reputational rather than legal.
Architecture and unit composition
Stern's design gives the building an 85-foot stone base and a brick tower organized by bay windows, with ceiling heights that step up as the building rises — roughly 9 feet on the lower residential floors and 10 feet above. The apartments run from one-bedroom-plus-library layouts through four-bedroom duplex penthouses, with the top penthouse spanning the building's uppermost floors. Roughly 93 to 94 residences occupy the tower; sources differ modestly on the exact unit and floor counts, and the offering plan's schedule controls on any specific apartment.
Interiors were built at the level the Related/Stern collaboration implies — generous proportions, defined rooms, and the kind of pre-war-styled layout logic that renovates well and reads as substantial rather than builder-grade.
Building operations
The Chatham runs as a full-service condominium: 24-hour doorman and concierge, a live-in resident manager, a fitness center and spa, an on-site parking garage with valet service, a bike room, deeded or assigned private storage, a residents' dining and entertainment room, and central laundry alongside in-unit washer/dryers. There is no shared pool. The offering plan, house rules, and financial statements are held in The Roebling Research Library and available to clients during diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $90,589/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $81
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials 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
The Chatham's resale market is a name-and-quality market. The Stern design, the Related sponsorship, and the finish level put this building in a conversation with the corridor's better new-construction condominiums rather than with Third Avenue's postwar stock, and pricing reflects that. Buyers reach it wanting the architecture and the flexibility of condominium ownership; sellers should market to both. Because the unit mix skews toward larger, higher-quality apartments, comparable analysis at the line level matters more here than a building average — a renovated high-floor bay-window unit and a lower-floor apartment are different products at the same address.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2025 | 27B | 4 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,745 sf | $7,450,000 | $2,714/sf | -6.7% |
| Oct 7, 2024 | 19C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,075 sf | $2,200,000 | $2,047/sf | -4.1% |
| Jul 15, 2024 | 19A | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,410 sf | $6,300,000 | $2,614/sf | +0.0% |
| Jun 20, 2024 | 22B | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,250 sf | $5,500,000 | $2,444/sf | -6.7% |
| Feb 9, 2024 | PHA | 6 BR · 5.5 BA · 6,701 sf | $16,000,000 | $2,388/sf | -20.0% |
| Oct 25, 2023 | 18B | 3 BR · 3 BA · 2,206 sf | $5,800,000 | $2,629/sf | -3.3% |
| Sep 20, 2023 | 17A | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,404 sf | $2,900,000 | $2,066/sf | -4.9% |
| Feb 17, 2023 | 23A | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,345 sf | $5,550,000 | $2,367/sf | -11.9% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2025): a median $2,323/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 6.7% 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 1-01400-7501) 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
This is a condominium — flexibility is the product. No co-op-style financing cap, no board-approval regime beyond a standard right of first refusal, and pied-à-terre and sublet use permitted under the declaration. Confirm the current house-rules posture and any transfer fee against the offering plan at contract.
Underwrite the specific unit's carry. Common charges and property taxes vary by line and size; run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator on the exact apartment.
Price to the architecture and the floor. The bay-window lines and high floors carry the building's premium — use same-line comparables, not the building average.
Model the mansion-tax thresholds. At this building's price points, the mansion-tax cliffs routinely apply. Run pricing through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with Stern. The architect, the Related sponsorship, and the Sign of the Dove site history are documented, searchable assets that lift this building out of the "Third Avenue condo" bucket. Use them with precision.
Sell condition and floor. The premium here is for turn-key, high-floor, bay-windowed inventory; position accordingly and market lower-floor units honestly.
Anchor to the line. Same-line history is the right comparable set; we maintain it.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 181 East 65th Street, also evaluate:
- The Seville (300 East 77th Street) — a second Robert A.M. Stern condominium in Lenox Hill, with a fuller amenity package including a pool
- The Impala (404 East 76th Street) — Michael Graves postwar-era condominium; the design-forward alternative
- The Cielo (450 East 83rd Street) — Perkins Eastman glass condominium in Yorkville
- The Metropolitan (181 East 90th Street) — Philip Johnson condominium in Carnegie Hill
- Manhattan House (200 East 66th Street) — the landmarked postwar benchmark across Third Avenue, now a condominium
- 130 East 75th Street — pre-war co-op alternative one tier west for buyers weighing tenure
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
Considering a move at The Chatham?
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 Chatham 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.