271 Lexington Avenue

The building is a confident 1924 pre-war house in brick, twelve stories on the corner of Lexington and 36th, with the generous proportions and traditional detailing of its era. Public records attribute the design to George F. Pelham, a prolific architect of New York apartment houses in the 1910s through 1930s. It does not carry ornate landmark ornament; its appeal is the pre-war fundamentals — ceiling height, light on a corner, inlaid hardwood floors, crown moldings, and the sturdy massing of a 1920s building.

The residences skew toward studios and one-bedrooms, with some larger and combined apartments among the mix; many carry the windowed kitchens, real closets, and gracious room proportions typical of the vintage. As with any pre-war house, floor and exposure drive the experience: higher floors and the Lexington- and 36th-facing lines take more light, while lower and rear units trade at a discount. The corner site gives the better lines cross-exposure and a sense of openness uncommon in a mid-block building.

136 East 36th Street runs as a full-service, high-touch cooperative — a 24-hour doorman, a live-in resident manager, an on-site handyman, elevators, a roof deck, central laundry, resident storage, and a bike room. Pets are welcome. It does not have an in-building gym or pool; the amenity set is the practical, well-staffed package of a good pre-war house rather than a modern amenity tower, and the full-time staffing is a core part of why the building holds its standing. As a cooperative, purchases are subject to board review and the building's financing and residency policies; the building has historically allowed a relatively flexible down payment, which broadens the pool of qualified buyers.

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) cleared a median $719/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 4.6% 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 1-00891-0066). 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.

This is a cooperative, so plan for a board process. A purchase runs through a board package and interview, and the building maintains financing and residency policies typical of a full-service Murray Hill co-op — though its historically flexible down-payment posture (as little as ten percent down) is friendlier than many pre-war houses. Plan for a primary-residence purchase and a standard board review.

Know the building's true identity. Listings and records index this building under 136 East 36th Street, not 271 Lexington — so an address-only search on the avenue can turn up empty. It is one building with three addresses, distinct from The Carlton Regency across the street.

Floor, light, and exposure are the on-site distinctions. The corner site rewards the higher and better-exposed lines; those are the homes that hold value best. Benchmark against Murray Hill's full-service pre-war cooperatives.

The location is central Murray Hill. Steps from Park Avenue and the Morgan Library, with the 6 train at 33rd Street, Grand Central and the 4/5/7 a short walk away, and cross-town options close by. Quiet, residential, pre-war character.

Lead with pre-war fundamentals and the corner. A 1924 full-service co-op on a corner, with light, ceiling height, and a central Murray Hill address, is an easy story to tell; the building's steadiness does real work in a sale.

Benchmark within the building and against Murray Hill pre-war co-ops. With ample in-building turnover, recent comparable sales here are the first reference point; floor, light, exposure, and renovation status determine where a unit lands, on a price-per-room basis.

Flexible financing widens the buyer pool. The building's historically lenient down-payment policy is a genuine selling point — foreground it, as it brings more qualified buyers to the table than stricter pre-war houses.

Prepare the board package early. A clean, complete package and a well-qualified, primary-residence buyer move a co-op sale through the board efficiently — we manage that process end to end.

If you're considering 271 Lexington Avenue, also evaluate nearby Murray Hill cooperatives:

• 273 Lexington Avenue — The Carlton Regency, the full-block co-op directly across East 36th Street
• 144 East 36th Street — a 1916 Murray Hill pre-war co-op
• 160 East 38th Street — Murray Hill Mews, a full-service co-op
• 222 East 35th Street — The Gregory House, a 59-unit 1942 co-op
• 325 Lexington Avenue — Lexington Avenue full-service building