- Year built
- 1909
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 63
- Landmark
- Designated
The Clearfield at 305 Riverside Drive is a 1909 Beaux-Arts cooperative on the southeast corner of West 103rd Street, set directly across from Riverside Park with the Hudson beyond. Designed by Lawlor & Haase at the height of the Riverside Drive apartment boom, it is one of the handsome masonry buildings that gave the Drive its identity as the Upper West Side's grand park-front avenue — a quieter, leafier counterpart to Central Park West a half-mile east.
The architecture is genuine turn-of-the-century work: a limestone base and crown framing a brick body, a delicate street-level fence with finials, and bandcourses running above the third and fourth floors. At 12 stories and 63 apartments, the building sits at a human scale, and its park frontage is the permanent asset — Riverside Park's promenade, playgrounds, and Hudson River greenway are directly across the Drive, an outlook no future construction can interrupt.
For buyers, the case is straightforward: a landmarked, full-service pre-war co-op with direct park exposure, an amenity package upgraded for modern living, and a board posture friendlier than the white-glove avenues to the east. It rewards buyers who want pre-war character and parkside calm without surrendering everyday convenience.
Architecture and unit composition
Lawlor & Haase designed The Clearfield in the Beaux-Arts vocabulary the Drive favored: a rusticated limestone base, a refined cornice and crown, decorative ironwork, and the layered masonry detail of 1909 construction. The building's protected status within the Riverside–West End Historic District preserves that envelope.
Inside, the 63 apartments carry the proportions of the period — high ceilings, generous room sizes, fireplaces in many homes, and the deep light that a park-front exposure delivers. Apartments have been individually renovated over the building's long cooperative life, and in-unit washer/dryers are part of the current fabric; the specific home's floor, exposure, and condition drive value. West-facing residences capture Riverside Park and Hudson River outlooks; corner lines at the Drive and 103rd gain dual exposures.
Building operations
The Clearfield runs as a full-service pre-war cooperative. A 24-hour doorman staffs the lobby, supported by a live-in superintendent, and residents have the use of a roof deck, a bicycle room, private storage units, and a central laundry room — a well-rounded amenity set for a building of this era and scale.
On board policy, the building is welcoming. Pets are permitted with board approval, and in-unit washer/dryers are an established feature of the apartments. Financing and residency expectations follow Upper West Side cooperative norms; a clean financial profile and primary-residence intent carry a purchase package. The roof deck and parkside setting make this a building that lives larger than its footprint.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
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
Sales context at 305 Riverside Drive:
- Turnover is measured given the 63-unit scale — a small number of closings in a typical year.
- Pricing tracks pre-war Riverside Drive values, with park-facing exposure, floor, and renovation level the principal swing factors; west-facing park-view lines command a premium.
- The building's automatically updated sales page tracks recorded transfers at the apartment level; the figures here describe cadence and range only.
What to know if you’re buying
You're buying a park-front pre-war address. Direct Riverside Park exposure across the Drive, a 1909 Beaux-Arts envelope, and historic-district protection are the building's defining assets.
The amenity set is full. A 24-hour doorman, roof deck, bike room, and private storage put this building's services ahead of many of its pre-war peers.
The board is accommodating. Pets are welcome with approval and in-unit washer/dryers are present — a friendlier posture than the strictest UWS co-ops.
Underwrite the specific apartment. Exposure — particularly west toward the park — floor, and renovation level drive value across a varied unit mix.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the park and the roof deck. Direct Riverside Park frontage, Hudson outlooks from the west lines, and shared roof access are the marketing core.
The rules widen the buyer pool. Pet-friendliness and in-unit laundry broaden appeal beyond what stricter buildings reach.
Price to the line. Park-facing west exposures and higher floors command premiums; comparable analysis should be exposure-specific.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. Plan for roughly 6–10 weeks from contract to closing, subject to board scheduling.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 305 Riverside Drive, also evaluate:
- 300 Riverside Drive — pre-war Riverside Drive cooperative across the street
- 320 Riverside Drive — nearby park-front pre-war building
- 285 Riverside Drive — comparable Riverside Drive co-op to the south
- 310 Riverside Drive — the Master Building, a Riverside Drive landmark nearby
- 258 Riverside Drive — pre-war Riverside Drive peer
- 222 Riverside Drive — comparable park-front cooperative
The Roebling Team at The Clearfield
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, Riverside Drive, Central Park West, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this profile because parkside buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board rules, amenities, and apartment-level pricing — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at The Clearfield, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.