- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Condop — the building is legally the 320 East 86th Street Condominium
- Units
- 24
- Floors
- 5
- Landmark
- No
- Amenities
- Landscaped common roof deck, central laundry room, video intercom security, elevator
- Pets
- Permitted case-by-case per brokerage records
- Financing
- Up to 90 percent permitted (10 percent minimum down) per brokerage records
320 East 86th Street is a small building with an unusually well-engineered ownership structure. Legally it is a two-unit condominium — a commercial unit holding the retail base and a residential unit owned by a cooperative corporation whose 10,000 shares are divided among 24 apartments. Residents buy co-op shares, but the condop architecture, set up in the 1988 offering plan on file in The Roebling Research Library, separated the retail economics from the residential ones at conversion and left the apartment corporation carrying a fraction of the building's tax and operating load. The practical result, four decades on, is one of Yorkville's most flexible small buildings: 10 percent minimum down, unlimited subletting after two years, and pied-à-terre, co-purchase, and parental purchases all considered, per brokerage records — a policy stack closer to a condominium than to the co-op norm of the surrounding blocks.
The location explains the rest of the thesis. The building sits on East 86th Street — Yorkville's main retail and transit spine — between Second and First Avenues, with the Q train's Second Avenue entrances steps away and the 4/5/6 at Lexington a few minutes west. When the Second Avenue subway opened in 2017, this stretch of the East 80s repriced; small-unit buildings with low carrying costs near the new stations captured a disproportionate share of the first-time-buyer and investor demand that followed.
The building's recent history includes a documented windfall. In May 2019, the apartment corporation and the sponsor sold the property's unused air rights to the developer assembling the condominium site next door at 310 East 86th Street — now The Harper, the 21-story ODA-designed tower completed in 2024 — for $849,570 in total, of which the corporation's share was approximately $280,000, per the audited financial statements on file. The same statements document the license agreements that governed construction protection (roof protection, fire-escape relocation, underpinning, party-wall bracing, and flue extensions) while the neighbor rose. The corporation banked the proceeds: reserves stood above $800,000 at the most recent year-end statements on file, against a $1.2 million interest-only mortgage refinanced in 2017 and an untapped $250,000 credit line — a strong balance sheet for a 24-unit building.
Architecture and unit composition
This is not an architecture play. The building is a five-story 1925 brick structure of walk-up vintage — with an elevator — renovated at conversion, holding 24 apartments above a retail base. The apartments are compact: predominantly studios and one-bedrooms with select two-bedroom layouts, trading on efficiency, low monthlies, and the policy framework rather than on pre-war grandeur. The common roof deck is landscaped and is the building's primary shared amenity. City records carry 27 residential units against the offering plan's 24 — a count discrepancy that likely reflects the lot's secondary structures and should be reconciled in diligence rather than assumed.
Building operations
The building runs lean: video-intercom entry rather than a doorman, a central laundry room, elevator, and the roof deck. Management has been continuous with Majestic Property Management Corp. — an affiliate of the sponsor — since January 1989, per the financial statements on file, and the sponsor retained the commercial unit and roughly 13 percent of the residential shares as of the most recent statements. Common charges flow through the condominium association (77 percent residential / 23 percent commercial), and the apartment corporation's monthly maintenance is correspondingly modest. The offering plan, amendments, audited financial statements for both entities, the alteration agreement, and the current purchase application are on file in The Roebling Research Library.
Local Law 97
This building is below the 25,000 sq ft threshold at which LL97 emissions caps apply. No regulatory capital pressure from this law specifically, current or 2030.
See full Local Law 97 analysis →What to know if you’re buying
Understand what "condop" means here. You are buying co-op shares in 320 East 86th Street Realty Corp., not a condo deed — but the building's legal structure separates the retail unit, and the board's documented posture (10 percent down, unlimited subletting after two years, pied-à-terre and parental purchases considered) delivers most of the flexibility buyers seek from condos. Your attorney should review the offering plan and by-laws on file with us to confirm the mechanics.
The investor math is the draw — model it honestly. Two years of owner seasoning, then unlimited subletting per brokerage records, with low carry and a transit-anchored rental pool. Verify the current sublet fee schedule and any recent policy amendments with the managing agent before underwriting.
The sponsor is still in the building. The commercial unit and roughly 13 percent of the shares remained sponsor-held as of the statements on file, and the managing agent is a sponsor affiliate. None of this is unusual for a small 1980s conversion, but your attorney should confirm the current sponsor position and what it means for board control and resale.
The balance sheet is documented and solid. Air-rights proceeds, reserves above $800,000, an interest-only mortgage refinanced at favorable terms, and an untapped credit line — all per the audited statements on file. Ask us for the documents; they survive scrutiny.
Price the 86th Street reality. This is Yorkville's busiest commercial block — retail below, the Q entrance nearby, real foot traffic. Buyers wanting a quiet side-street profile should weigh that against the convenience premium. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator on the specific unit; the monthlies here are a genuine advantage.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the structure, not just the apartment. "Condop with 10 percent down and unlimited subletting after two years" is the headline that widens your buyer pool to investors, parents buying for children, and pied-à-terre purchasers whom neighboring co-ops turn away. Say it in the first line of the listing.
Quantify the carry advantage. Low maintenance against the new-development alternative across the street is a spreadsheet argument — make it explicitly, against The Harper's common charges and taxes.
Know your flip tax. The transfer fee is $1,500 per room, seller-paid, per the financial statements on file — modest, but it belongs in your net-proceeds math from day one. Run the Seller Closing Cost Calculator before pricing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 320 East 86th Street, also evaluate:
- The Harper (310 East 86th Street) — the ODA-designed 2024 condo immediately west; the new-development alternative at several multiples of the price
- 180 East 88th Street — DDG's boutique condo tower two blocks north; the design-forward step-up
- 200 East 83rd Street — Robert A.M. Stern condo; the corridor's top-tier new alternative
- 50 East 89th Street — full-service post-war co-op; the amenity-rich alternative for the same budget band
- 131 East 93rd Street — small Carnegie Hill co-op; the quiet side-street comparison
- Citizen360 (360 East 89th Street) — Yorkville condo; the resale-condo alternative
- The Kent (200 East 95th Street) — Extell condo; the family-scale Yorkville condo comparison
The Roebling Team at 320 East 86th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Upper East Side and the Yorkville / Second Avenue subway corridor as a core practice area. We publish this building profile because 320 East 86th Street buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — condop mechanics, documented financials, and policy framework — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 320 East 86th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.