- Year built
- 1907
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- Designated
257 West 86th Street is one of the Upper West Side's distinctive early studio buildings — a 1907 design by Pollard & Steinam, the firm best known for the studio-building type that gave the neighborhood some of its most architecturally ambitious apartment houses. What sets a building like this apart is the base: a dramatic three-story limestone elevation with robust columns, rusticated quoins, decorative balconies, and a colonnaded, lantern-flanked entrance — a far more sculptural street presence than the standard brick apartment house of the era. It rises only seven stories and holds just 32 residences, which makes it genuinely boutique.
The building was later converted to a residential cooperative, and today it trades as a full-service pre-war co-op between Broadway and West End Avenue, a block from Riverside Park and within easy reach of Central Park. For buyers, the draw is the combination: real architectural character, an intimate ownership, modern building amenities, and one of the more flexible board postures on the Upper West Side.
Architecture and unit composition
The original studio-building program shaped the interiors as much as the façade. Buildings of this type were planned around larger, light-filled rooms and double-height or generously scaled volumes, and many homes here retain that openness along with classic pre-war detail. Over the decades a number of apartments have been combined and reconfigured — duplexes and classic-six layouts among them — so the unit mix runs from gracious one- and two-bedrooms up to substantial multi-floor homes. The seven-story scale and 32-unit count keep the building quiet and personal, and the upper floors and penthouse capture strong light over the low-rise side streets.
Building operations
257 West 86th is run as a full-service boutique cooperative. The building offers a fitness room and a common roof deck, with storage available; a full-time elevator and a resident manager handle day-to-day service. The board is comparatively flexible by Upper West Side standards: pets are permitted, pied-à-terre ownership is allowed, and the building permits financing of up to roughly 65% of the purchase price (a minimum down payment in the neighborhood of 35%). A transfer fee (flip tax) applies on sale. As at any cooperative, purchasers clear a board package and interview, and the building's location inside the West End–Collegiate Historic District Extension means exterior changes are subject to Landmarks review. We help buyers confirm the precise financing cap, flip-tax basis, and sublet terms against the cooperative's governing documents before they bid.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
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 transfers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2026 | 3/4A | 3 BR · 2.5 BA | $3,625,000 | -3.3% | |
| Feb 9, 2026 | PHA | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,875 sf | $4,228,750 | $1,471/sf | -6.0% |
| Jun 15, 2021 | 1A/2A | 4 BR · 2,708 sf | $1,704,804 | $630/sf | -5.3% |
| Jun 3, 2019 | 34B | 3 BR · 3 BA · 2,500 sf | $3,750,000 | $1,500/sf | -24.2% |
| Jan 30, 2019 | 9B | 5 BR | $3,950,000 | -7.1% | |
| Nov 2, 2017 | 11/12B | 4 BR | $4,150,000 | +10.7% | |
| Feb 23, 2017 | 4C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 650 sf | $605,000 | $931/sf | -10.4% |
| Nov 24, 2014 | 6C | 1 BR · 700 sf | $590,000 | $843/sf | -1.5% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,471/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 5.4% 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, 2026 | 3A4A | $3,625,000 |
| Aug 21, 2025 | 5/6B | $3,850,000 |
| Jul 7, 2022 | 13B | $1,696,750 |
| Sep 14, 2020 | 8C | $540,000 |
| Jan 28, 2019 | 9/10B | $3,950,000 |
| Oct 27, 2017 | 11B | $4,150,000 |
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 1-01234-0007) 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
This is one of the easier Upper West Side co-ops to underwrite for buyers who want flexibility: the pet, pied-à-terre, and financing posture are more accommodating than at many pre-war neighbors. Match your financing to the building's cap, budget for the transfer fee, and expect a board package and interview. The reward is an architecturally distinctive, full-service home with a gym and roof deck, a block from Riverside Park. We help buyers read the financials, understand the board's posture, and benchmark pricing against the right line-specific comparables.
What to know if you’re selling
The architecture and the flexibility are the marketing core. The sculptural limestone base, the studio-building provenance, the on-site gym and roof deck, and a board that permits pieds-à-terre and pets together describe a building that appeals to a wide buyer pool — primary buyers, second-home buyers, and downsizers alike. The key is pricing the specific apartment to its true peer set given the building's varied layouts, and presenting the pre-war volume and light correctly. We build that strategy around the building's amenity package and accommodating posture.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 257 West 86th Street, also evaluate these nearby Upper West Side cooperatives:
- 255 West 90th Street — pre-war Upper West Side cooperative nearby
- 145 West 86th Street — full-service pre-war co-op on the same street
- 200 West 88th Street — pre-war Upper West Side cooperative
- 215 West 84th Street — boutique pre-war co-op to the south
- 320 West 83rd Street — West End–corridor pre-war cooperative
The Roebling Team at 257 West 86th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, the Riverside and West End corridors, and the pre-war cooperative market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating a distinctive studio-building co-op like 257 West 86th deserve building-specific intelligence — the architecture, the amenity package, the unusually flexible board posture, and where pricing sits against the right comparables.
If you're considering a purchase or sale here, a 30-minute consultation is the right place to start.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.