Riverside Towers (263 West End Avenue)

The 125 apartments occupy a setback tower of 22 stories — substantial height for West End Avenue. The setbacks produce a meaningful number of terraced apartments on the upper floors, an unusual amenity for a building of this era and a primary value driver within the building.

The mix runs from studios and one-bedrooms to larger four-bedroom layouts on the upper floors. Apartments combine elements of pre-war planning (the building's bones date to the early 1920s) with the practical finishes of its 1940s completion. Higher floors capture open western exposures toward the Hudson and Riverside Park; lower and interior lines are more sheltered. Layouts, ceiling heights, and terrace configurations vary line to line and floor to floor — worth confirming apartment by apartment.

Riverside Towers operates as a full-service cooperative with a 24-hour doorman and a live-in resident manager. The amenity roster — landscaped roof deck, residents' lounge, bike room, central laundry, and large private basement storage — is deep for the avenue, and the storage rooms in particular are a sought-after feature. The cooperative's policies are notably accommodating: the October 2026 management schedule reports up to 75% financing, while an older 40% minimum-down statement conflicts; confirm both requirements in the current application, and the building allows pied-à-terres, co-purchasing, and guarantors. One dog per unit is permitted with board approval. Subletting is permitted four out of every five years after two years of ownership — a liberal posture by Manhattan co-op standards. A 2% flip tax applies and is paid by the buyer at closing. The 22-story, 125-unit scale supports stable staffing and the building-wide capital planning appropriate to a structure of its age and height, including ongoing facade and terrace-related maintenance under the city's periodic inspection requirements.

Recent sales

Recent transfers at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.

Market read. Most recent trades (2026 to date) cleared a median $1,337/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 1.8% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01184-0010). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. 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.

Terraces, height, and the roof deck are the differentiators. The upper-floor setbacks produce private outdoor space and open views that are scarce on West End Avenue, and the landscaped common roof deck adds river-and-city outlooks for the whole building.

Confirm the current policies. The October 2026 schedule reports up to 75% financing, subject to resolving the conflicting older down-payment figure; permitted pied-à-terres, co-purchasing and guarantors, and a four-of-five-years sublet allowance make this an unusually flexible co-op; budget for the 2% flip tax, which the buyer pays.

Storage and bike room are real conveniences. Large private basement storage rooms come with apartments — a feature worth confirming at the unit level.

Diligence terrace apartments carefully. Waterproofing, terrace maintenance responsibility, and any related building projects are worth specific review.

Lead with the terrace, the height, and the roof deck. These are the building's scarcest, most marketable attributes; the unusual Hudson-Towers-to-Riverside-Towers history adds narrative interest.

Highlight the flexible policies. The financing allowance, pied-à-terre and co-purchasing permissions, and liberal sublet rule widen the buyer pool meaningfully.

Price at the apartment level. Terrace presence, floor altitude, exposure, and condition matter far more than building-wide averages.

Closing timelines are co-op standard — generally 6–10 weeks from signed contract to closing.

If you're considering 263 West End Avenue, also evaluate:

• 277 West End Avenue — nearby West End Avenue pre-war co-op
• 300 Riverside Drive — nearby park-facing pre-war co-op
• 400 West End Avenue — West End Avenue pre-war co-op
• 525 West End Avenue — Schwartz & Gross pre-war West End Avenue co-op
• 340 Riverside Drive — pre-war Riverside Drive co-op near the park
• 100 Riverside Drive — pre-war park-facing co-op on the Drive