27 West 55th Street
27 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019
BBL 1012710021 · BIN 1034823
- Year built
- 1923
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark status
- Not an individual landmark; not in a historic district
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and City Planning records, updated February 2026
- Subletting by shareholders
- Permitted
- Pied-à-terre
- Permitted
- Doorman
- Part-time doorman
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 27 West 55th Street 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.
27 West 55th Street is a boutique pre-war cooperative on one of Midtown's most centrally located residential blocks — the stretch of West 55th between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, a few minutes' walk from Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Museum of Modern Art, and the flagship retail of Fifth Avenue. Built in 1923 and converted to a cooperative in 1949, it rises nine stories with roughly 34 apartments and occupies a niche that has only grown scarcer: a true pre-war home in the heart of Midtown, to compare with nearby towers and Fifth Avenue buildings using recent sales, service levels and charges.
The case for a building like this is location and character; assess costs from current maintenance and financials. For buyers who work in or near Midtown, or who want a pied-à-terre within walking distance of the park, MoMA, and the city's cultural and commercial core, 27 West 55th offers the pre-war architecture and the address with a limited service package to compare against the actual charges at full-service alternatives.
Architecture and unit composition
The building presents a handsome brown-brick face to West 55th Street, anchored by a canopied entrance and limestone detailing — the disciplined, well-proportioned vocabulary of early-1920s Manhattan apartment design. At 34 homes across nine floors, the building keeps a low, owner-occupied density, with a manageable number of apartments per landing.
Inside, the apartments carry the pre-war features buyers seek in this part of town — higher ceilings than post-war stock, separate kitchens, hardwood floors, and solid masonry construction. Across roughly 37,000 residential square feet and 34 homes, the layouts run to comfortable one- and two-bedroom apartments. As a converted cooperative, renovation level varies line to line, creating both turnkey and value-add opportunities.
Building operations
27 West 55th Street runs as a traditional cooperative with part-time door attendance and a live-in resident manager; verify coverage hours and costs in the current staffing budget. Shared facilities are practical: a central laundry room and storage. The building has a limited amenity package and a location whose amenities are the neighborhood itself — Central Park, MoMA, Rockefeller Center, and the restaurants and retail of Midtown all within a short walk.
As a cooperative, purchases clear through a board with a financial package and interview. Financing is permitted within a stated cap, and subletting is allowed under board-defined terms after an initial owner-occupancy period — standard posture for a stable, owner-occupied pre-war building of this size.
Sublet and pied-à-terre policy
A condominium owner leasing a unit and a co-op shareholder subletting are different rules, and a building-wide rule is different from a restriction on one apartment. This is the building's rule; confirm it for the specific apartment.
- Subletting by shareholders
- PermittedSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Pied-à-terre ownership
- PermittedSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to discuss the sublet and pied-à-terre rules for that apartment.
Own an apartment here? Request an apartment-specific pricing review.
Building staffing and amenities
- Doorman
- Part-time doormanSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Live-in superintendent
- YesSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Elevator
- YesSource: NYC Department of City Planning records (PLUTO)
- Amenities noted
- Laundry roomSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
Staffing and amenities as our building profile and recent listing records describe them. A feature not listed is not confirmed absent. Outdoor space, parking and some facilities can belong to particular apartments or to a separate owner; confirm access for the specific apartment.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $24,300/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $60
- Modeled exposure split equally across 34 units (the residential count on the city's lot record). Not an assessed amount; co-op shareholders are typically charged by share allocation.
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. A filed Safe grade is not a guarantee of current condition: owners still maintain the facade and, where required, observe parapets each year. Future inspection timing (Local Law 49 of 2025 changed the cycle framework from October 1, 2026), repair and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — a licensed professional engineer or registered architect who meets DOB’s FISP qualifications and signs the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
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.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2025 | 71 | 2 BR · 1 BA | $760,000 | -4.9% | |
| Oct 13, 2022 | 42 | 2 BR · 1 BA · 780 sf | $798,000 | $1,023/sf | +0.4% |
| Aug 11, 2021 | 82 | 2 BR · 1 BA | $630,000 | +0.8% | |
| Jun 11, 2021 | 52 | 2 BR · 1 BA | $715,000 | -1.4% | |
| Feb 20, 2020 | 93 | 2 BR · 1 BA | $775,000 | -13.9% | |
| Feb 26, 2019 | 72 | 2 BR · 1 BA | $765,000 | +0.0% | |
| Jun 26, 2018 | 62 | 2 BR · 1 BA | $825,000 | -4.1% | |
| May 16, 2017 | 73 | 2 BR | $825,000 | +0.0% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2022): a median $1,023/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 1.7% 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.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01271-0021). 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.
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Buying here? Co-op closing costs typically run 2 to 3% of the price. See NYC co-op and condo closing costs, line by line.
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What to know if you’re buying
This is a board-approval cooperative, so plan for a full financial package, an interview, and a financing cap. Underwrite the all-in monthly carry — maintenance plus financing — and read the building's financials for reserve health and any planned capital work, which matters for any masonry building of this era. Confirm the current sublet and financing terms against your own plans early.
The reasons to buy are location-first: a pre-war home in the geographic center of Midtown, walking distance to Central Park, MoMA, and Rockefeller Center, with pricing to assess against the neighborhood’s full-service inventory using matched sales and current charges. For owner-occupants and pied-à-terre buyers who value central location and pre-war character over a full amenity stack, the value case is strong.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the location and the pre-war character: few blocks in Manhattan combine this much centrality with this much architectural quiet. The comparable set is recent closings in the building and in the immediate Midtown pre-war cooperative cohort, adjusted for floor, light, and renovation.
Photograph ceiling height, light and condition accurately. Assess renovation and presentation against matched closed sales rather than assuming that staging or renovation guarantees a higher result. We price to the building's real ceiling rather than the broad neighborhood average, position the central-Midtown lifestyle accurately, and prepare a complete board package for review.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 27 West 55th Street, also look at these Midtown pre-war cooperatives:
- 33 West 56th Street — Midtown building nearby; verify its construction date and ownership before selecting comparisons
- 10 West 55th Street — new-construction rental on the same block
- 17 West 54th Street — the Rockefeller Apartments, Harrison & Fouilhoux's landmarked International Style co-op
- 25 West 54th Street — Midtown pre-war peer
- 146 West 57th Street — Midtown West building near Carnegie Hall; confirm ownership and transfer rules
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
Considering a move at 27 West 55th Street?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com