- Year built
- 1987
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 92
- Floors
- 30
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted under condominium rules
- Subletting
- Permitted under the condominium declaration
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
- Financing
- Generally financeable from roughly 20% down, subject to lender and board terms
- Flip tax
- 1%, customarily paid by the purchaser (confirm current schedule at offer stage)
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,923
- Listing discount
- 6.4%
- Recorded sales
- 70
- On record
- 2003–2026
30 East 85th Street occupies one of the best-positioned parcels in Carnegie Hill: the East 85th Street block between Madison and Fifth Avenues, a single block from Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Fifth Avenue Museum Mile. That address places residents at the intersection of the neighborhood's two defining amenities — the Park to the west and the cultural corridor of Fifth Avenue — while keeping Madison Avenue's retail and dining at the front door.
The building matters within the Upper East Side condominium market because it answers a specific brief that the surrounding co-op stock does not. Carnegie Hill and the blocks off Fifth are dominated by pre-war cooperatives with demanding boards, financing limits, and restrictions on subletting and pied-à-terre use. 30 East 85th Street is a full-service condominium, built in 1987, and that structural difference is the reason many buyers choose it. It delivers a comparable service package — doorman, concierge, live-in resident manager, on-site garage — inside an ownership form that permits investment use, foreign purchase, financing, and flexible occupancy that the neighborhood's co-ops typically prohibit.
The 1987 vintage is also part of the story. Where the pre-war buildings offer classical proportions and high ceilings, 30 East 85th Street offers larger windows, private balconies and terraces in many lines, higher floor counts, and open exposures — the payoff of building tall on a corner in a low-rise district. Upper-floor units capture Central Park, reservoir, skyline, and East River sight lines that the pre-war stock, capped in height, cannot match.
Architecture and unit composition
The tower rises 30 stories in a postmodern masonry idiom typical of accomplished 1980s Manhattan residential design — a solid brick-clad shaft with balconies and terraced setbacks that step back at the upper floors. The design is the work of Schuman, Lichtenstein, Claman & Efron, the prolific New York residential practice that became SLCE Architects and shaped a large share of the city's late-20th-century apartment towers.
The residential program runs to roughly 92 units and spans a wide range of layouts — from studios and one-bedrooms through larger three- and four-bedroom homes, with combined and full-floor residences and duplexes among the upper floors. Many apartments feature oversized windows and private outdoor space; balconies and setback terraces are a recurring and desirable feature of the higher lines. Because units have been combined over the building's life, floor plans vary meaningfully from line to line, and apartment-level review matters more here than a single "typical" plan would suggest.
View quality is a defining attribute. The building's height on a Carnegie Hill corner produces open exposures in multiple directions; upper-floor apartments look across to Central Park and the reservoir to the west, north and south along the avenues, and toward the East River. Those sight lines are protected in large part by the low-rise, landmark-influenced character of the surrounding blocks.
Building operations
30 East 85th Street operates as a full-service luxury condominium. Residents are served by a full-time doorman and concierge, a live-in resident manager, and a valet-attended garage on site. The amenity package includes a fitness center, private storage, a bike room, a package room, and outdoor common space — a service level that competes directly with the neighborhood's best pre-war cooperatives while retaining condominium flexibility.
As with any building of this age and service level, common charges and real estate taxes are meaningful line items, and prospective buyers should model the full monthly carry — common charges plus property taxes plus utilities and insurance — rather than common charges alone. During due diligence, review the current financial statements, reserve position, board minutes, and any planned capital work; a masonry-and-balcony tower of this vintage carries the ordinary façade, terrace, and mechanical maintenance obligations of its type, and the Roebling Research Library holds the building's records to support that review.
Recent sales
Pricing at 30 East 85th Street is best understood on a price-per-square-foot basis, because the unit mix is so varied — a full-floor or combined home, a high-floor line with a Park-view terrace, and a lower studio are simply different products, and comparing headline prices across them is misleading. On a $/sf basis, the building tends to sit at a premium to non-doorman and walk-up condominium stock in the surrounding blocks, reflecting its full-service operation, view profile, and the address; it typically trades below the trophy new-development $/sf seen on Fifth Avenue and Billionaires' Row, which is part of its value proposition for buyers who want service and location without new-construction pricing.
Because it is a condominium, the building draws a broader buyer pool than the neighborhood's co-ops — including financing buyers, pied-à-terre purchasers, foreign buyers, and investors — which supports both liquidity and pricing. Within the building, the drivers of value are consistent: floor height, exposure and Park sight lines, the presence and size of private outdoor space, and the condition and configuration of the specific apartment. Well-renovated, high-floor, terraced lines command the strongest pricing; lower-floor or dated units price accordingly. The right number for any given apartment comes from apartment-level comparable analysis, not a building-wide average.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 2026 | 18B | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,070 sf | $5,995,000 | $2,896/sf | off-mkt |
| Jan 8, 2026 | 21B | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,094 sf | $4,200,000 | $2,006/sf | -9.7% |
| Dec 2, 2025 | 5D | 1 BR · 1 BA · 876 sf | $1,353,150 | $1,545/sf | -3.0% |
| May 12, 2025 | 3G | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,117 sf | $2,400,000 | $2,149/sf | off-mkt |
| Dec 23, 2024 | PH | 5 BR · 5 BA · 5,425 sf | $8,450,000 | $1,558/sf | off-mkt |
| Apr 3, 2024 | 8B | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,312 sf | $2,700,000 | $2,058/sf | -14.3% |
| Jul 13, 2023 | 14C | 1 BR · 1.5 BA · 874 sf | $1,400,000 | $1,602/sf | +8.1% |
| Feb 6, 2023 | 8A | 1 BR · 1.5 BA · 860 sf | $1,400,000 | $1,628/sf | off-mkt |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,923/sf across 2 sales. Median listing discount 6.4% 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.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2005 | 13C | $1,195,000 |
| Jan 11, 2005 | 14B | $998,000 |
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01496-7501) 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
You are buying condominium flexibility in a co-op neighborhood. That is the core reason to be here. Sublets, pied-à-terre use, co-purchasing, guarantors, and financing are all permitted under the condominium's rules — the flexibility the surrounding pre-war co-ops generally restrict. Confirm the current house rules against your intended use at offer stage.
Underwrite the apartment, not the building. Because units have been combined and reconfigured over time, layouts and outdoor space vary widely from line to line. Evaluate the specific apartment's exposure, terrace, ceiling height, and condition rather than a generic building profile.
Model the full carry. Common charges plus real estate taxes plus utilities and insurance — not common charges alone. Ask for the building's current financials and any planned capital assessments during diligence.
Budget for the flip tax. The building carries a 1% flip tax customarily paid by the purchaser; confirm the current schedule and who pays before you sign.
Mansion tax may apply. At the building's higher price points, the New York State mansion tax cliffs are in play. Run any target price through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
See it in person, at height. The value of this building is in its views and light. Tour upper-floor and terraced lines at different times of day before deciding.
What to know if you’re selling
Price to the apartment. With such a varied unit mix, comparable selection is everything. A defensible price comes from $/sf comparison against the most similar lines — floor height, exposure, and outdoor space matched — not the building's broadest average.
Lead with the flexibility and the address. The condominium structure, the full-service operation, and the one-block-from-the-Park-and-the-Met location are the marketing story. Buyers priced out of, or unwilling to face, the neighborhood's co-op boards are your natural audience.
Present outdoor space and views deliberately. Terraces, balconies, and Park or skyline sight lines are the building's differentiators; they should be shown and photographed to full advantage.
Closing is condo-paced. Condominium sales here move on standard condo timelines rather than the extended board-approval process of a co-op — a genuine advantage to communicate to buyers.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 30 East 85th Street, also evaluate these nearby Carnegie Hill and prime Upper East Side buildings:
- 2 East 88th Street — prime Fifth-Avenue-corner address in Carnegie Hill
- 21 East 87th Street — full-service building a few blocks north
- 180 East 88th Street — newer Carnegie Hill condominium tower
- 14 East 90th Street — off-Fifth Carnegie Hill address near the reservoir
- 1025 Park Avenue — Park Avenue full-service building in the same corridor
- The Lucida (151 East 85th) — modern full-service condominium on the same street
The Roebling Team at 30 East 85th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because condominium buyers and sellers on the Upper East Side deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, operational reality, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 30 East 85th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point. We'll bring the full context this page provides plus the transactional specifics your situation requires — financial structuring, due diligence priorities, apartment-level comparable analysis, and the pacing strategy that fits your timeline.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
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