- Year built
- 1931
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 112
- Floors
- 12
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted per listing records
- Subletting
- Permitted after two years of ownership per listing records — verify current terms with the managing agent
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
- Financing
- 80 percent maximum per listing records — confirm with the managing agent at offer stage
- Flip tax
- 2 percent, paid by the seller, per listing records — confirm current terms with the managing agent
The Beekman Hill is a 1931 prewar building on a quiet Turtle Bay block that trades on prewar character at a Midtown East entry price. Twelve stories of dark brown brick with terracotta balconies, setback roof terraces, and arched top-floor windows, it reads as a genuine prewar apartment house — the kind of building that anchors the practical, residential end of Turtle Bay a block from the East River and the Beekman Place enclave. It is structured as a cond-op, but for buyers and sellers the distinction is technical: the building trades entirely as a cooperative, with shares, a proprietary lease, a recognition agreement, and a co-op transfer stamp on every sale.
The policy framework is friendlier than the block's architecture might suggest. Per listing records the building permits pieds-à-terre, subletting after two years, and 80 percent financing, and carries a 2 percent seller-paid flip tax. That combination — prewar terraces and setbacks, a 24-hour attended lobby, and a policy stack that accommodates pied-à-terre and investor buyers — makes The Beekman Hill unusually flexible for a prewar Midtown co-op, and it widens the building's buyer pool beyond the owner-occupant-only norm.
The location is the Turtle Bay proposition in miniature: a mid-block residential stretch of East 50th between First and Second Avenues, steps from the United Nations corridor and Beekman Place, with the 6 at 51st Street and the E/M at Lexington–53rd within a short walk. It is quieter and more residential than the Lexington and Third Avenue commercial spine two blocks west, and the prewar setbacks give the upper floors light and terrace space that the postwar white-brick stock nearby can't match.
Architecture and unit composition
The Beekman Hill runs twelve stories of dark brown brick, distinguished by terracotta balconies and trim, arched windows at the top floor, and a series of setback roof terraces that give the upper apartments private outdoor space. The lobby carries an English Tudor-inflected treatment consistent with the building's 1931 vintage. The inventory is predominantly studios and one-bedrooms, with larger and combined apartments and the terraced setback units at the top of the building's range. Layouts are prewar-practical — defined foyers, real closets, and the room proportions that make prewar apartments renovate well. The building runs on through-wall or window air conditioning rather than central systems.
Building operations
This is a staffed, full-service co-op: a 24-hour doorman with attended service, a live-in superintendent, central laundry, a bike room, and private storage. There is no on-site garage, gym, or sundeck. The building is structured as a cond-op but operates and transacts as a cooperative in every respect that matters to a buyer or seller. The offering plan, proprietary lease, and by-laws are on file in The Roebling Research Library and available to clients during diligence.
What to know if you’re buying
The cond-op structure trades as a co-op. You buy shares and a proprietary lease, with a recognition agreement and a co-op stamp on the transfer. Underwrite it as a cooperative purchase; the "condo" in cond-op does not change the mechanics.
The policy stack is flexible for a prewar co-op. Pied-à-terre, subletting after two years, and 80 percent financing — per listing records — widen the buyer pool beyond the owner-occupant norm. Verify each in current form before offering.
Prioritize the setback terraces. The prewar setbacks are the building's architectural advantage, and the terraced units carry the premium. Walk the difference in person.
Model the 2 percent flip tax. It is seller-paid per listing records but shapes the building's pricing; confirm the current terms at offer stage.
Run the board math early. The Co-op Board Qualification Calculator is the right first step.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the prewar character. Terracotta trim, arched windows, setback terraces, and a Tudor lobby are genuine differentiators against the postwar white-brick co-ops nearby. Name them.
The flexible policies widen your pool. Pied-à-terre and post-seasoning sublet permissions reach buyers that stricter prewar co-ops miss. State the framework plainly in marketing.
Condition and outdoor space drive the spread. Renovated-versus-original and terrace-versus-none are the two pricing axes. Price accordingly — the Renovation Cost Calculator frames the first for buyers.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Beekman Hill, also evaluate:
- 301 East 50th Street — Turtle Bay co-op on the same block
- 249 East 50th Street — Turtle Bay co-op nearby
- 138 East 50th Street — Turtle Bay co-op west of the block
- 345 East 52nd Street — Midtown East co-op near Beekman Place
- 301 East 48th Street — Turtle Bay co-op two blocks south
The Roebling Team at The Beekman Hill
The Roebling Team at Compass works Turtle Bay and the broader Midtown East corridor as a core practice area. We publish this building profile because Beekman Hill buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — conversion structure, policy framework, and corridor-level comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at The Beekman Hill, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Midtown East — read The Roebling Team Guide to Midtown East.
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