280 Riverside Drive
280 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10025
BBL 1018890001 · BIN 1057127
- Year built
- 1926
- Type
- Rental
- Landmark status
- Not an individual landmark; in the Riverside-West End Historic District Extension II
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission records, updated February 2026
- Pied-à-terre
- Permitted
- Pets
- Pets permitted; species and limits not stated
- Doorman
- Full-time doorman
280 Riverside Drive — known as Oxford Tower — is one of the lesser-celebrated commissions of an architect whose name is otherwise synonymous with the Fifth and Park Avenue limestone apex. Designed by Rosario Candela in 1926 for the developer Dr. Charles V. Paterno, the building sits at the corner of West 100th Street, taking its prestige address from Riverside Drive while entering from the side street. It is a reminder that Candela's range extended well beyond the white-glove cooperatives that made his reputation: here, the same designer worked in a quieter, brick-clad Colonial Revival vocabulary appropriate to upper Riverside Drive.
The building's architecture rewards attention. Rather than carved limestone, Candela composed a red-brick façade animated by Georgian and Federal-derived motifs, with delicate Adam-style neo-Classical designs filling the terra-cotta spandrel panels and a dentiled, arched entrance pediment over fluted pilasters at the West 100th Street door. The original apartments were laid out for well-staffed households, with service entrances, maids' rooms, and pantries — the planning conventions of 1920s upper-tier residential design, now largely repurposed in the building's reconfigured unit mix.
What sets Oxford Tower apart today is that it carries genuine Candela pedigree and a full amenity package while operating as a rental — a relative rarity on a stretch of the Drive otherwise dominated by cooperatives. Riverside Drive itself is the structural draw: the Drive runs along Riverside Park and the Hudson, and buildings on its frontage trade on a combination of park-and-river orientation, lower density than the avenue corridors, and a distinct architectural character. For renters who want pre-war Candela architecture, a Riverside Drive address, and proximity to the park, Oxford Tower is a standout on the upper stretch of the Drive.
Architecture and unit composition
Candela's 1926 design carries the proportional discipline that distinguishes his work even in this more restrained register: a well-organized brick façade, carefully scaled terra-cotta ornament, and a confident entrance composition. The building reads as a piece of 1920s Riverside Drive residential design rather than as a stripped-down utility building.
The apartments span pre-war configurations across the 15 stories. The building originally held roughly 85 large residences planned around servant infrastructure; public records reflect a larger present-day unit count of approximately 129, indicating that the original layouts have been subdivided and reconfigured over the building's life. Pre-war signatures — high ceilings, hardwood floors, period proportions, and decorative fireplaces in some apartments — persist in varying states depending on apartment and renovation history, and some units carry in-unit washer/dryers. West-facing apartments on the Riverside flank carry the building's park-and-river orientation, with views over Riverside Park that vary by floor and line.
Building operations
280 Riverside Drive operates as a full-service pre-war rental building with full-time doorman coverage and a live-in superintendent. The amenity package is genuinely deep for an upper-Riverside building: a fitness center, a children's playroom, a rooftop terrace, a bike room, and laundry, in a pet-friendly building. There is no on-site parking garage.
Because the building is a rental, day-to-day operations and leasing run through ownership and management rather than a cooperative board; there is no board approval in the cooperative sense, though standard rental application, credit, and income requirements apply. Lease terms, rent, and the current pet specifics run through management.
Recent activity
This is a rental building, so the relevant market is the leasing market rather than the sales market:
- Availability turns over on lease cycles rather than at the pace of co-op or condo resales; review current availability and dated leasing evidence before estimating turnover for this Candela-designed Riverside building.
- Asking rents track unit size, floor, and exposure, with west-facing park-view apartments and upper floors at the top of the building's range.
- Any recorded transfers tied to this parcel relate to the building as a whole (ownership) rather than to individual apartment sales.
If you are weighing the Upper West Side more broadly, we can frame the rent-versus-buy decision against the corridor's deep cooperative inventory.
What to know if you're leasing at 280 Riverside Drive
This is a rental, not a co-op. There is no cooperative board process; standard rental application, credit, and income screening apply.
The Candela authorship is a genuine architectural asset. Few upper-Riverside rentals carry this pedigree; the brick Colonial Revival façade and Adam-style detailing are real.
The amenity package is unusually complete. Doorman, gym, children's playroom, roof deck, bike room, and laundry — a full-service profile in a pre-war envelope, and the building is pet-friendly.
Riverside Drive orientation is the draw. West-facing apartments look over Riverside Park and toward the Hudson; the park frontage is a durable amenity, but views depend on floor and exposure, and no view is protected without a recorded instrument.
Inspect the specific apartment. The original large layouts have been reconfigured over time, so plans, ceiling height, and condition vary considerably line to line.
What to know about ownership history at 280 Riverside Drive
The building has operated as a rental in recent decades. Built as an upper-tier 1926 apartment house, it has been held and operated by ownership rather than as a cooperative.
Pre-war character is a marketing asset. The Candela façade and period detailing distinguish the building within the upper-Riverside rental pool, and the amenity suite reinforces it.
Apartment-level value drivers are floor, exposure, and renovation. As with any pre-war building, the west/Riverside exposure and high floors carry the premiums.
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.
- Leasing or subletting
- Not verified
- 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.
Pets and in-unit washer/dryer
- Pets
- Pets permitted; species and limits not statedSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- In-unit washer/dryer
- Not verified
Considering an apartment here? Send Corey the listing to confirm the pet and washer/dryer rules for that apartment.
Building staffing and amenities
- Doorman
- Full-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
- Fitness room, playroom, roof deck, bike storageSource: 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
- $16,086/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $10
- Modeled exposure split equally across 129 units (the residential count on the city's lot record). Not an assessed amount; in a rental building the penalty is the owner's obligation, so this is a measure of scale only.
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).
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
What would your apartment rent for?
Enter your apartment and I'll send you what it would rent for, from comparable closed leases at Oxford Tower and nearby.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 280 Riverside Drive, also evaluate:
- 310 Riverside Drive — nearby upper-Riverside pre-war building
- 325 Riverside Drive — Riverside Drive pre-war peer
- 340 Riverside Drive — nearby Riverside Drive building
- 300 Riverside Drive — adjacent Riverside Drive pre-war building
- 320 Riverside Drive — nearby Riverside Drive building
- 395 Riverside Drive — upper-Riverside pre-war peer
More Riverside Drive buildings
- 260 Riverside Drive — 1910
- The Riverview (264/265 Riverside Drive) — 1908 co-op by George F. Pelham
- 270 Riverside Drive (Glen Cairn) — 1910 condominium by Rouse & Goldstone
- 285 Riverside Drive — 1926 co-op by Rosario Candela
- 295 Riverside Drive — 1911 co-op
- 300 Riverside Drive — 1924 co-op by George F. Pelham
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, transit, and pricing across Riverside Drive — read The Roebling Team Guide to Riverside Drive.
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 Oxford Tower?
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