- Year built
- 1908
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 21
- Floors
- 12
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Pets permitted under condominium rules
- Subletting
- Permitted under the condominium framework; confirm at offer stage
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2006–2023
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,301
- Listing discount
- 0.5%
- Recorded sales
- 51
- On record
- 2006–2023
Altair 18 at 32 West 18th Street is a high-end boutique loft condominium in the heart of Flatiron's Ladies' Mile, the late-19th- and early-20th-century commercial district that ran along Sixth Avenue and the surrounding side streets and that NYC LPC designated as a historic district in 1989. The building was constructed in 1908 to a design by Maynicke & Frank as a commercial loft structure, and was converted to residential condominium use in 2006 by Extell Development Company, with CetraRuddy as conversion architect. Today it holds 21 large loft-style apartments across 12 floors.
The building is a strong example of the marquee Flatiron loft conversion: a substantial prewar commercial shell, within a designated historic district, reworked into a full-service condominium with the volume, ceiling heights, and window lines that define the genre, paired with amenities — including a landscaped roof terrace with skyline views — that the boutique loft segment does not always offer. The Ladies' Mile location is one of the most desirable in the Flatiron / Chelsea-edge market: central, architecturally protected, and walkable to Union Square, the Flatiron and Chelsea retail and dining corridors, and the principal downtown transit lines.
For buyers, Altair 18 offers loft-scale interior volume and historic-district character in the flexible condominium ownership structure, at a building scale and finish level that has supported pricing into the building's upper, eight-figure penthouse tier.
Architecture and unit composition
The original 1908 structure is a Maynicke & Frank commercial loft building — grand proportions, a masonry facade, and the deep, light-filled floor plates that loft use required, within what is now the protected Ladies' Mile streetscape. The 2006 conversion by CetraRuddy for Extell reworked the building into a high-end residential condominium, introducing contemporary systems, kitchens, and bathrooms while preserving the loft volume and window lines that give the apartments their character.
In residential use, the building delivers large, loft-style homes — full-floor and near-full-floor configurations with substantial ceiling heights, generous light, and the open plans buyers seek in a converted loft. With 21 units across 12 floors, the building runs to roughly one to two homes per floor, and the apartment program reaches up to a penthouse tier that has transacted at the building's top prices.
Apartment-level features — floor, exposure, light, ceiling height, square footage, and finish package — vary unit by unit and are the primary drivers of value. Evaluate each home on its specific configuration.
Building operations
Altair 18 operates as a full-service condominium with doorman and concierge service, fitness facilities, and a landscaped roof terrace with skyline views; common charges support these services and staffing, with governance through the condominium's board of managers and by-laws.
Specific amenities, staffing levels, and policies on pets and alterations are set in the offering plan and the condominium's governing documents. Because condominium use permits broad financing, pied-à-terre, and investment flexibility, the building accommodates a wide range of ownership cases. Prospective buyers should confirm the current rules, the building's financial profile, the common-charge and assessment history, and the status of building systems directly against current materials during due diligence; board specifics should be confirmed at offer stage.
Recent sales
Sales at Altair 18 are best read on a condominium basis — on price per square foot and on apartment-specific configuration. The building sits in the upper tier of Flatiron / Ladies' Mile boutique loft condo pricing, reflecting the size and quality of the loft homes, the full-service amenity package, the historic-district location, and the developer pedigree of the conversion. The building's larger loft homes have transacted in the mid-to-high seven figures, and its penthouse tier has reached into eight figures.
Value tracks the usual condo variables — floor, exposure, light, ceiling height, square footage, layout, and finish condition — with the loft-and-historic-district premium attaching to the larger, better-lit, well-finished homes. Because the building is small, in-building comparable sales are episodic; pricing any individual apartment requires reading both in-building history and the broader Flatiron loft condo market. Recent specific transactions should be confirmed against current public records at the time of any inquiry.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 8, 2023 | 6A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 3,007 sf | $3,950,000 | $1,314/sf | -14.0% |
| Nov 10, 2022 | 2A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 2,794 sf | $3,550,000 | $1,271/sf | off-mkt |
| Jul 6, 2021 | A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 3,007 sf | $5,300,000 | $1,763/sf | -3.6% |
| Jul 1, 2021 | 11A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 3,007 sf | $5,300,000 | $1,763/sf | -3.6% |
| Jul 1, 2021 | 9A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 3,007 sf | $4,725,000 | $1,571/sf | -5.4% |
| Jun 17, 2021 | 7A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 3,007 sf | $4,550,000 | $1,513/sf | -7.0% |
| Jun 7, 2021 | 2B | 4 BR · 4 BA · 3,292 sf | $4,455,000 | $1,353/sf | -15.1% |
| May 5, 2021 | 3A | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 3,007 sf | $3,850,000 | $1,280/sf | -8.3% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2023) cleared a median $1,301/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 0.5% 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.
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 1-00819-7503) 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 high-end loft condominium — underwrite the size and the finishes. Value tracks square footage, ceiling height, light, and the quality of the 2006 conversion. Confirm as-built square footage and layout, and price per square foot against comparable Flatiron loft condos.
The historic-district location is a feature, with implications. The Ladies' Mile designation protects the streetscape and the building's architectural context; it can also affect facade and exterior alterations at the building level. Factor the protection into both the value and the diligence.
Condominium flexibility is a real advantage. The structure supports higher financing percentages, pied-à-terre and investment use, and a faster, less selective approval process than a comparable cooperative. Our Co-op vs Condo guide covers the distinction.
Diligence the building's finances and systems age. Review the common-charge history, the reserve position, any assessments, and the status of building systems and the roof terrace — even a 2006 conversion is now approaching two decades of service life.
Mansion-tax thresholds may apply. At the building's larger-home and penthouse pricing, mansion-tax cliffs can be in play. Run pricing through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with loft scale, amenities, and the historic-district address. The building's structural selling points are large loft homes, a full-service program with a roof terrace, and a protected Ladies' Mile location. Apartment-specific marketing should foreground the home's size, exposure, light, and finish condition.
Price on apartment-level comparables. With a small in-building sample, anchor pricing to recent comparable Flatiron loft condo sales in the building and across the district on a per-square-foot basis.
Board approvability is procedural. The condominium's review of prospective purchasers is procedural rather than substantive, which broadens the buyer pool relative to a comparable co-op.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering Altair 18, also evaluate:
- 55 West 17th Street — a nearby Flatiron / Chelsea-edge condominium
- 212 West 18th Street — a Chelsea / Flatiron-edge condominium on the same street to the west
- 30 West 15th Street — a Flatiron / Union Square loft cooperative for buyers weighing the ownership-structure trade-off
- 29 East 22nd Street — a Flatiron / Gramercy boutique loft condominium of comparable register
- 15 Union Square West — the Union Square new-development condominium for buyers comparing the loft register against the tower tier
The Roebling Team at Altair 18
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Manhattan condominium and cooperative market across Flatiron, Chelsea, and the Ladies' Mile area, with substantive engagement in the high-end loft condominium segment. We publish this building profile because buyers and sellers of Flatiron loft condos deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, operating reality, and the apartment-level pricing considerations that a generic market read cannot provide.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at Altair 18, 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.
Corey Cohen · The Roebling Team at Compass 646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Flatiron — read The Roebling Team Guide to Flatiron.
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