- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 79
- Landmark
- No
The Armstead is a 1925 Renaissance Revival apartment house at the northwest corner of Broadway and West 104th Street — one of the dignified pre-war cooperatives that line upper Broadway as it climbs toward Manhattan Valley and Morningside Heights. Designed by the firm of Gronenberg & Leuchtag, the building was conceived as a comfortable middle-luxury apartment house: roughly 79 units ranging from four to seven rooms, with stores at the Broadway base and a quieter residential entrance set on the side street at 245 West 104th Street. It converted to cooperative ownership in 1982, taking the Armstead name at that time.
That corner positioning is the building's defining geographic fact. Broadway in the 100s is a wide, light-filled commercial spine; West 104th Street is a calmer residential block. The Armstead's address takes its prestige from Broadway and its livability from the side-street entrance — a configuration buyers on upper Broadway will recognize as the local norm. The 1, 2, and 3 trains at 103rd and 110th Streets, the restaurant and grocery row of upper Broadway, and Riverside Park and Central Park within a few blocks east and west make this one of the most convenient pockets of the upper Upper West Side.
For buyers, the appeal is straightforward: an architecturally intact 1920s Renaissance Revival facade, well-scaled pre-war floor plans, a pet-friendly full-service operation with a roof deck, and per-square-foot pricing materially below the prime Central Park West and lower-80s blocks — the value tradeoff that has long defined the upper-Broadway co-op tier.
Architecture and unit composition
Gronenberg & Leuchtag's design is a textbook tripartite composition: a two-story stone base, a long beige-brick midsection, and a richly ornamented top. The decorative program — bandcourses above the second and twelfth floors, ornamental window surrounds at the third and fourteenth floors, and the full-height corner rope quoin — gives the building more decorative ambition than its middle-luxury rents in 1925 might have suggested. The grand lobby is finished in marble walls and floors with carved wood ceilings, recently refreshed and fitted with built-in package storage.
The roughly 79 apartments span configurations from compact pre-war one-bedrooms to larger six- and seven-room layouts, with a penthouse level crowning the building. Pre-war signatures are typical of the era and vintage: solid masonry construction, hardwood floors, separate dining or gallery spaces in the larger lines, and ceiling heights characteristic of mid-1920s apartment construction. Configurations and finish vary apartment to apartment after four decades of cooperative ownership and individual renovation.
Building operations
The Armstead is a full-service pre-war cooperative staffed by a 24-hour doorman and a live-in superintendent. The amenity package is unusually complete for the upper-Broadway co-op tier: a common roof deck, a bike room, basement storage, central laundry, and the refreshed marble lobby with package room. The building is pet-friendly, a meaningful draw on this stretch of Broadway.
As a 1982-vintage conversion, the building's underlying structure and board posture are generally consistent with the neighborhood's mid-market co-op norms. The proprietary lease, house rules, and current financial statements govern any transaction, and the board reviews renovation scope with attention to the building's pre-war character.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $47,707/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $50
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
Turnover at The Armstead is moderate for a building of roughly 79 units — typically a handful of closings in a normal year. Pricing spans a range tied to apartment size, floor, exposure, and renovation: smaller one- and two-bedroom configurations occupy the more accessible end of the upper-Broadway co-op market, while larger six- and seven-room layouts and the penthouse command meaningful premiums. Broadway-facing lines bring light and avenue energy; side-street and rear-facing lines bring quiet.
What to know if you’re buying
The corner Broadway/104th positioning is structural. Broadway exposure brings light and the avenue's energy; the side-street entrance and rear-facing lines bring quiet. Match the line to your tolerance for avenue noise.
The amenity package and pet policy widen the appeal. A roof deck, bike room, storage, full staff, and a pet-friendly posture are strong differentiators at this price point on upper Broadway.
Pricing is more accessible than prime UWS. The upper-Broadway co-op tier trades below the Central Park West and lower-80s blocks — the central reason buyers look here.
The 1982 conversion vintage shapes the financials. Review the current financial statements, reserve posture, and any planned capital work; co-ops of this era often have manageable underlying structures.
What to know if you’re selling
The Renaissance Revival facade and marble lobby are marketing assets. Listing copy should foreground the intact 1925 terra-cotta and stone detailing, the corner presence, the refreshed lobby, and the building's pre-war pedigree.
Lead with the amenities and pet policy. The roof deck, full-service staffing, and pet-friendly rules are real differentiators in the upper-Broadway tier — make them central to the pitch.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. With roughly 79 units in mixed configurations, floor, exposure, line, and renovation history all matter; broad building averages mislead. Closing timelines are co-op standard.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Armstead, also evaluate:
- 2745 Broadway — adjacent upper-Broadway pre-war co-op
- 2780 Broadway — nearby Broadway pre-war co-op
- 275 West 96th Street — nearby pre-war building
- 250 West 94th Street — nearby UWS peer
The Roebling Team at The Armstead
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper West Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because upper-Broadway buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at The Armstead, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
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