- Year built
- 1908
- Type
- Condominium
- Landmark
- No
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
- $1,210
- Listing discount
- 4.9%
- Recorded sales
- 34
- On record
- 2004–2025
257 West 17th Street is the Steiner Building — a 1908 Italian Renaissance loft structure that became one of Chelsea's earliest and most successful residential conversions when it was turned into a condominium in 1998. It sits mid-block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the dense, walkable heart of the neighborhood, and it offers the thing Chelsea buyers most want: real loft architecture in a small, full-service building.
The building's value rests on the conversion's quality and its scale. With roughly 31 residences across ten floors, the Steiner Building is intimate without being self-managed-spartan: it carries a doorman, a live-in superintendent, a porter staff, separate elevator banks, and a rooftop deck — a genuine full-service package for a boutique loft condominium. That combination of loft proportions and staffed service is rarer than it sounds, and it is the reason the building has held a loyal owner base since the conversion.
As a condominium, the Steiner Building also gives buyers the ownership flexibility that loft buyers increasingly prioritize — open financing, lighter closing mechanics than a co-op, and the latitude that condominium ownership allows.
Architecture and unit composition
The Steiner Building is a handsome example of the Italian Renaissance palazzo idiom that early-twentieth-century New York applied to its commercial loft architecture: a symmetrical brick-and-terracotta façade with classical proportioning, built originally for manufacturing and trade. The 1998 conversion preserved that exterior character while reworking the interiors into residential lofts — keeping the wide floor plates, tall ceilings, and large windows that distinguish a converted loft from purpose-built apartments.
The roughly 31 residences are loft-format homes, generous by Manhattan standards, with the open, light-filled layouts that the building's commercial structure makes possible. Separate elevator banks serve the building's stacks, giving the larger homes a private, near-keyed-elevator feel. Original architectural elements combine with modern kitchens, baths, and systems installed in the conversion and updated in the years since.
Building operations
For a boutique building, 257 West 17th is comparatively well-staffed: a doorman, a live-in superintendent, and porters keep the building running at a level closer to a full-service tower than to a self-managed loft. Amenities include separate elevator banks, a bike room, private storage, and a rooftop deck — a practical, livable package that suits the building's owner-occupied character.
As a condominium, the ownership and transfer framework is condominium-standard: financing is not capped the way it is at a cooperative, purchases clear through a right-of-first-refusal rather than a board interview, and subletting and investment ownership are freer than at a co-op. Pet policy and house rules are set by the condominium board, and the building has run as a residential, owner-occupied community since the conversion. Common charges reflect the building's full-service staffing — a fair trade for the doorman-and-super service level in a building this size.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $22,610/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $61
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The facade passed its last inspection with no required repairs — nothing to budget for here, and no facade assessment on the horizon for roughly five years.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2025 | C1 | 6,997 sf | $5,900,000 | $843/sf | off-mkt |
| Aug 21, 2025 | 2B | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,245 sf | $1,915,000 | $1,538/sf | -4.0% |
| Jul 2, 2025 | PHD | 5,040 sf | $11,000,000 | $2,183/sf | off-mkt |
| Jan 21, 2025 | 6B | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,057 sf | $1,814,800 | $882/sf | off-mkt |
| Dec 6, 2024 | 5C | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,342 sf | $3,500,000 | $1,494/sf | -11.4% |
| Aug 20, 2024 | 5D | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,890 sf | $3,500,000 | $1,852/sf | off-mkt |
| Mar 14, 2024 | PHB | 4 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,561 sf | $4,900,000 | $1,913/sf | -6.7% |
| Oct 14, 2022 | 5C | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,342 sf | $3,400,000 | $1,452/sf | off-mkt |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $1,210/sf across 2 sales. Median listing discount 4.9% 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.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2003 | 6A | $1,550,000 |
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 1-00767-7502) 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
Buy the loft and the service together. The Steiner Building's distinguishing feature is that it pairs genuine loft architecture with full-service staffing — a combination most boutique loft conversions can't offer. The best homes here make the most of the height, light, and footprint while benefiting from the doorman-and-super service level.
Use the condominium flexibility. Open financing, lighter closing mechanics, and freer subletting than any co-op make the building accessible to a broad buyer pool, including pied-à-terre and investment buyers. We help buyers read the condominium's financials, reserves, and house rules before they commit.
Mind condition and exposure. Loft value turns on light and volume; renovated, high-ceilinged homes with good exposure sit at the top of the building's range. An honest assessment of where a particular unit falls is what produces an accurate offer.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with loft-plus-service. The pairing of 1908 loft architecture and full-service staffing is the building's durable differentiator — it distinguishes a home here from both raw loft conversions and conventional Chelsea apartments.
The condominium structure widens your pool. Open financing, lighter closing mechanics, and subletting flexibility make a resale here accessible to buyers a co-op would screen out, including pied-à-terre and investment buyers.
Condition and ceiling height set your number. In loft sales, the buyer pays for volume and light; a well-renovated, high-ceilinged home commands the building's premium, and pricing should be calibrated accordingly.
Benchmark to the Chelsea loft set. Comparable analysis belongs against the neighborhood's other loft conversions, not against new construction or postwar inventory.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 257 West 17th Street, also evaluate central Chelsea's loft and full-service condominiums:
- 151 West 17th Street — Chelsea loft condominium nearby
- 55 West 17th Street — Chelsea condominium to the east
- 224 West 18th Street — the boutique Campiello Collection condominium
- 212 West 18th Street — Chelsea condominium peer
- 252 Seventh Avenue — the Chelsea Mercantile, a large loft condominium nearby
The Roebling Team at The Steiner Building
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Chelsea and the downtown loft market — the converted commercial buildings that reward buyers who understand what they're buying. We publish this profile because loft value lives in details — ceiling height, light, service level, the condominium's financial health — that a casual search overlooks.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at the Steiner Building, a focused consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Chelsea — read The Roebling Team Guide to Chelsea.
Get the full picture on this building.
The full comp set, a private valuation of your line, or current and off-market availability — sent to you directly.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
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 Steiner Building, in this market. Put together by a person, not an algorithm.