240 Central Park South
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019
- Year built
- 1940
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 376
- Floors
- 30
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Confirm directly with management
- Subletting
- Confirm directly with management
240 Central Park South is among the most architecturally significant American expressions of the European modernist apartment-building vocabulary — the twin-tower 1940 Mayer & Whittlesey commission that pre-dates the post-WWII American modernist apartment-building boom by approximately a decade and that translated pre-war European modernist apartment design (the work of Le Corbusier, the Bauhaus, the early International Style apartment-building experiments in Vienna, Berlin, and Frankfurt) into Manhattan luxury cooperative idiom at substantial scale.
The 2002 individual landmark designation is the architectural-historical recognition that places 240 CPS in a particular category. Manhattan has produced approximately 1,400 individual landmark designations across its full history; the share of mid-20th century apartment buildings among them is small. 240 CPS's designation reflects the building's significance as an early American expression of modernist apartment-building language at the scale and quality of execution that pre-war Manhattan luxury developers brought to classical and Beaux-Arts apartment commissions.
The architectural features that distinguish 240 CPS are several. The twin-tower configuration — two separate masses rising from a shared limestone base — was unusual for 1940-era American luxury apartment construction, which typically followed the unified massing of pre-war classical commissions. The early adoption of continuous corner windows ("ribbon windows") was directly drawn from the European modernist vocabulary of the 1920s and 1930s and represented an early American adoption of the detail. The integrated sunken garden at the base — with outdoor sculpture by Chaim Gross and other mid-century American sculptors — was an unusual integration of contemporary art programming into apartment-building amenity that pre-dated the broader post-war pattern.
Albert Mayer and Julian Whittlesey were among the most significant American modernist apartment architects of the mid-20th century. Mayer's broader portfolio included social-housing experiments and the Greenbelt Knoll modernist development in Philadelphia; Whittlesey's work continued through the 1960s. The pairing's work at 240 CPS represents their most consequential New York commission and an early American demonstration that modernist apartment design could be deployed at the luxury cooperative scale.
The position at Columbus Circle / Central Park South is structurally distinctive. The Park frontage produces direct sight lines north across Central Park; the Columbus Circle adjacency places the building within walking distance of Lincoln Center, the Time Warner Center (now Deutsche Bank Center), and the Broadway theater district. The neighborhood's transition across the second half of the 20th century — from a more transitional Midtown West character to the increasingly trophy-condominium-anchored Columbus Circle district — has produced an interesting set of cross-currents for 240 CPS's positioning.
For buyers, 240 CPS represents a particular tier of Central Park South inventory: pre-WWII modernist architectural pedigree (rare in the Manhattan luxury apartment canon), individual landmark status (rare for mid-20th century construction), substantial 376-unit scale producing meaningful annual turnover, and direct Park frontage at Columbus Circle.
Architecture and unit composition
The 376 apartments span configurations from approximately 700 sf studios to substantially larger 3–4 BR configurations and combined apartments distributed across the two towers (30 floors on one side; 19 floors on the other). The substantial unit count produces a wide range of price points and configurations.
Mayer & Whittlesey's modernist signatures throughout: efficient floor plates with less service-wing infrastructure than pre-war peers, ribbon-window continuous corner glazing on many apartments, lower ceilings than the 10–11 foot pre-war norm but consistent with 1940-era modernist apartment construction, more contemporary apartment configurations relative to pre-war floor plates.
North-facing apartments command direct Central Park views across the Park's southern boundary; west-facing apartments look across Columbus Circle and the West Side beyond. The view envelopes vary substantially by tower, floor, and exposure.
Building operations
240 CPS operates as a full-service post-war cooperative with full-time doorman, attended elevator, on-site superintendent, private storage, the sunken garden amenity with outdoor sculpture, and retail tenancy at the building's base. The 376-apartment scale produces a substantial operational density characteristic of large mid-20th century luxury inventory.
Specific policy details (financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet policy specifics, pied-à-terre allowance) should be confirmed directly with property management during due diligence. The board posture follows broader Central Park South cooperative norms — moderate to rigorous financial review depending on apartment tier.
Recent sales
Last 5–10 closed sales at 240 Central Park South (replace this section with current ACRIS data — pull at publication time and refresh quarterly):
[Recent sales table to be populated from ACRIS]
Sales context at 240 CPS:
- Inventory turnover is substantial given the 376-unit scale — typically 15–30 transactions per year.
- Pricing spans a wide range — studio configurations in the $700K–$1.5M range; 1–2 BR apartments in the $1M–$4M range; 3–4 BR apartments and combined configurations in the $3M–$15M+ range; Park-view inventory at significant premium.
- Public listing through StreetEasy and Compass private exclusive is standard.
What to know if you’re buying
The architectural pedigree is real and distinctive. Among the few American pre-WWII modernist apartment buildings of this scale and quality. Buyers attentive to architectural history find the Mayer & Whittlesey authorship and the individual landmark status differentiating.
The 376-unit scale produces broader price-point access. The building offers configurations and price points materially more accessible than the smaller Fifth Avenue / Park Avenue tier-one inventory.
Confirm specific policies directly with management. Financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet specifics, and pied-à-terre allowance should be obtained directly during the contract review process.
Board approval follows post-war Central Park South norms. Strong financial profile, professional accomplishment, and standard cooperative-application disciplines apply.
Pricing tracks Central Park South generally. The corridor has historically traded at modest discount to Fifth Avenue tier-one inventory; 240 CPS's pricing reflects the Central Park South positioning rather than the Fifth Avenue tier.
View envelope varies substantially. North-facing Park-view inventory commands premium pricing; interior and other exposures track lower.
What to know if you’re selling
The architectural pedigree and landmark status are marketing assets. Listing copy should reference Mayer & Whittlesey's authorship, the building's place in mid-20th century American modernist apartment design, and the 2002 individual landmark designation.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. The 376-unit scale produces meaningful variation in pricing by tower, floor, and exposure.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
The Roebling Team at 240 CPS
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 Central Park South buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 240 CPS, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.