- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 2BR median
- $2.3M
- Recent range
- $562K – $2.5M
- Listing discount
- 10.1%
- Recorded transfers
- 62
321 West 78th Street sits on one of the most charming residential blocks on the Upper West Side — a tree-lined townhouse street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive, a short walk from Riverside Park. Built in 1925 and designed by Sommerfeld & Sass, the nine-story building is a graceful pre-war: red brick and limestone, with three-story pilasters rising to frame a canopied entrance. On a corridor where the celebrated full-service towers can feel imposing, 321 West 78th is the human-scaled alternative — a doorman pre-war on a quiet block, close to the river.
Built as a rental and converted to cooperative ownership in 1979, the building has been a share-and-board co-op for more than four decades. What makes it stand out among pre-wars is its unusually accommodating house rules: it is pet-friendly, permits washer/dryers in apartments, and allows pied-à-terre purchases with board approval — a combination of flexibilities that many older West Side co-ops still resist, and one that materially widens the building's appeal.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a well-mannered example of mid-1920s Upper West Side design. The red-brick façade is detailed with limestone, and the entrance is framed by pilasters that rise three stories and sheltered by a canopy — a dignified, restrained street presence that fits the townhouse block rather than overpowering it. At nine stories, the building keeps a low, neighborly profile that the side-street setting rewards.
The 56 apartments carry the pre-war virtues — solid room proportions, real foyers, good light — on a comfortable scale. Because the building permits washer/dryers, owners can install in-unit laundry, a convenience that older pre-wars frequently forbid and that buyers increasingly require. A renovation and alteration cycle in 1987 modernized common systems while preserving the building's character. The combination of pre-war bones and contemporary-friendly rules is the building's core value.
Building operations
321 West 78th Street is run as a full-service cooperative with a full-time doorman and a live-in superintendent. On-site amenities include a central laundry room, common storage, and bicycle storage. The house rules are notably accommodating: the building is pet-friendly, permits washer/dryers in apartments, and allows pied-à-terre purchases with board approval. On the financial side, the co-op permits financing up to 75% of the purchase price and charges a 2.5% flip tax at closing. That flexible posture — doorman service paired with modern-living rules — is unusual for a pre-war of this vintage and is a genuine differentiator on the corridor.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $55,199/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $82
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
Recent transfers 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 | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7, 2026 | 5A | 3 BR · 2 BA | $2,400,000 | -4.0% |
| Jul 14, 2025 | 6F | 1 BR · 1.5 BA | $562,000 | -10.1% |
| Mar 4, 2024 | 8C | 2 BR · 1.5 BA | $950,000 | -20.5% |
| Sep 7, 2023 | 10C | 2 BR · 1.5 BA | $2,250,000 | +12.8% |
| Sep 7, 2023 | PHC | 2 BR · 1.5 BA | $2,250,000 | +12.8% |
| May 12, 2023 | PH10B | 1 BR · 1 BA | $1,185,000 | -13.8% |
| Apr 28, 2023 | 9A | 3 BR · 2.5 BA | $2,500,000 | +0.2% |
| Jul 22, 2022 | 2B | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,587,725 | -0.7% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2018) cleared a median $1,668/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 2.5% 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.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2, 2021 | 4D | $2,250,000 |
| Oct 11, 2013 | 2B | $1,225,000 |
| Aug 14, 2012 | 9C | $880,000 |
| Mar 18, 2010 | 8B | $700,000 |
| Feb 19, 2010 | 1CD | $1,010,000 |
| May 9, 2007 | 2EF | $2,130,186 |
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 1-01186-0059) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
The house rules are the differentiator. Pet-friendly, washer/dryers permitted, and pied-à-terre purchases allowed — for a 1925 co-op, that flexibility is rare and valuable. If in-unit laundry or a part-time home is a requirement, this building accommodates where many neighbors will not.
The terms are reasonable. Financing to 75% and a 2.5% flip tax are standard for a full-service pre-war; budget the flip tax as a seller cost at exit.
Buy for the block. The tree-lined townhouse setting between West End and Riverside, a short walk to Riverside Park, is a durable amenity in itself — quiet, central, and close to the river, with the doorman service that supports value.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the flexibility. A pet-, washer/dryer-, and pied-à-terre-friendly pre-war reaches buyers that stricter co-ops turn away — make those rules a headline, not a footnote.
Position the block and the service. The townhouse-street location near Riverside Park and the full-time doorman are the lifestyle case; pair them with the pre-war room proportions in the marketing.
Benchmark to flexible doorman pre-wars in the West 70s. Comparable analysis belongs against other full-service co-ops on the prized side streets between West End and Riverside, not against generic inventory — the rules and the location set the building's tier.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 321 West 78th Street, also evaluate these nearby pre-war Upper West Side cooperatives:
- 320 West 83rd Street — pre-war cooperative on a nearby side street
- 324 West 83rd Street — neighboring West 83rd Street cooperative
- 329 West 77th Street — pre-war cooperative one block south
- 322 West 72nd Street — full-service pre-war nearby
- 680 West End Avenue — West End Avenue cooperative nearby
The Roebling Team at 321 West 78th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, the Riverside and West End side streets, and the broader pre-war co-op market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating a flexible doorman pre-war near Riverside Park deserve building-specific intelligence — the architecture, the unusually accommodating house rules, and where the pricing sits against the corridor.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at 321 West 78th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
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