- Year built
- 1900
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 20
- Floors
- 10
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Confirm current house rules at offer stage
28 West 86th Street is a boutique doorman condominium a half-block off Central Park, mid-block between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Its origin is unusual: the building was created in 1990 by combining two adjoining Georgian-style townhouses — 28 and 30 West 86th Street, both dating to around 1900 — and expanding them vertically into a single ten-story elevator building with 20 apartments.
The proposition here is location and intimacy. This is a genuine doorman condominium at a scale most doorman buildings never reach, one flat block from Central Park and steps from the B/C at 86th Street and Central Park West. For the buyer who wants full-time staff, a park-adjacent address, and a small ownership base — rather than a large tower — the building is a well-positioned mid-market Upper West Side choice.
Building operations
The condominium runs as a full-service building for its size: a full-time doorman and elevator service, appropriate to a park-block address and to a 20-unit ownership base that keeps the building simple to operate. As a condominium, ownership is by deed rather than shares, which gives owners the flexibility condominiums are known for — financing, subletting, and pied-à-terre use are governed by the condominium's declaration and bylaws rather than by co-op board approval. Confirm the current pet policy, storage and bike-room availability, common charges, and any assessment at offer stage.
Recent sales
Condominium pricing is read on a per-square-foot basis, and 28 West 86th trades as a solid mid-market Upper West Side doorman condominium — recent activity sits in the general $1,400-per-square-foot range, reflecting a boutique doorman building a block from Central Park rather than a new-development tower. With only 20 residences, resale volume is thin, with a small number of closings in an active year. When underwriting a purchase or a list price, capture the square footage, the floor, the exposure, the outdoor space if any, and renovation condition rather than relying on a neighborhood average. Genuinely variable financial figures should be confirmed at offer stage.
Recent closings 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2009 | 4B | 3 BR · 1,430 sf | $1,925,000 | $1,346/sf | -11.5% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2009) cleared a median $1,346/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 11.5% 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 1-01199-7502) 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
This is a condominium, so the path is a straightforward purchase governed by the declaration and bylaws rather than a co-op board package and interview — an application and financials review, but with the deed ownership and flexibility condominiums offer. Read the rules on the points that matter to you — pet policy, subletting, and any storage — and review the condominium's reserve and any planned capital work given the building's townhouse-era base and 1990 expansion. The reasons to buy are the address and the format: a full-time-doorman condominium a block from Central Park, at boutique scale.
What to know if you’re selling
The story is the park-block location and the doorman condominium format at intimate scale. The Georgian-townhouse origin, the 1990 combination into a single building, and the position steps from Central Park sell to a buyer who wants full-time staff and a park address without a tower. Pricing is an apartment-specific exercise: square footage, floor, light, outdoor space, and condition drive the number more than any block average. We position the building's boutique doorman format, benchmark against the right comparable tier of park-adjacent Upper West Side condominiums, and prepare the transaction accordingly.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 28 West 86th Street, also look at these nearby Upper West Side buildings:
- 262 Central Park West — pre-war condominium near the park
- 10 West 86th Street — boutique building nearby
- 257 Central Park West — park-block cooperative nearby
- 15 West 81st Street — pre-war building near the Museum of Natural History
The Roebling Team at 28 West 86th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Manhattan's pre-war cooperative and condominium market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers of boutique doorman condominiums deserve building-specific intelligence — the architecture and neighborhood context, the condominium structure, the staffing and amenity reality, and where pricing sits against the right comparable tier.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at 28 West 86th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper West Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper West Side.
Get the full picture on this building.
The full comp set, a private valuation of your line, or current and off-market availability — sent to you directly.