The Gramercy House (235 East 22nd Street / 381 Second Avenue)
235 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010
Gramercy Park
BBL 1009037502 · BIN 1019731
- Year built
- 1931
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 335
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted
- Subletting
- Not permitted except in board-approved hardship cases
- Pied-à-terre
- Not allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $785K
- Recent range
- $365K – $2.7M
- Listing discount
- 2.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 410
The Gramercy House is one of the finest Art Deco apartment houses in Manhattan, and it survives almost entirely intact. When George and Edward Blum designed it on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and East 22nd Street, construction began within months of the 1929 stock market crash — and rather than retreat into austerity, the Blums wrapped the new building in a colorful band of terra-cotta ornament. Pointed zigzags like mountain ranges sit above a gentle wave pattern like a river; the southwestern palette of turquoise, green, ochre, and navy prompted one architectural historian to call the design "Pueblo Deco." The composition culminates in a two-story entrance framed by three stylized terra-cotta waterfalls.
George and Edward Blum were French-born, École des Beaux-Arts-trained brothers who became among the most prolific apartment-house architects in New York, with more than 170 Manhattan commissions between roughly 1909 and 1930. They are celebrated for treating a facade almost like a textile — a continuous, richly worked surface of specially commissioned terra-cotta, tile, and patterned brick. The Gramercy House is a late, Deco-phase work in a career mostly rooted in the 1910s, and it is among the small handful of buildings in which the brothers worked in the Art Deco idiom. The result is a building that reads as a deliberate, confident piece of period design rather than a stripped-down Depression-era compromise.
The building matters for buyers because it pairs that architectural distinction with the practical profile of a well-run prewar Gramercy cooperative: intact original detail, a genuine private garden, and a stable, primary-residence shareholder base. It is priced as a Gramercy prewar co-op — accessible relative to the trophy corridors — with a facade most trophy buildings cannot match.
Architecture and unit composition
The Gramercy House rises 17 stories in three unequal wings, with small Art Deco cast-iron-fenced garden strips at the building line and a large private garden at the west end. The Blums laid brick diagonally to create visually tactile quoins and corners, and layered brown-brick base courses, dark-green pilasters, and blue banded brick beneath the lighter upper facade. The 1931 marketing described polychrome terra-cotta, marble, and brown brick, with apartments ranging from one to four rooms plus five- and seven-room penthouse suites, and touted wood-burning fireplaces, tile showers, and dressing rooms.
Today the roughly 335 residences are primarily studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms, along with seven penthouses; some units have been combined into larger two- and three-bedroom homes, and a number carry set-back terraces. Prewar finishes have been widely retained: wood-burning fireplaces in a large proportion of units, hardwood and parquet floors, beamed ceilings, restored moldings, and large casement windows. Representative layouts run from alcove studios with pass-through kitchens to combined two-bedrooms with 18-to-25-foot living rooms opening onto long terraces.
Maintenance at The Gramercy House includes utilities — electricity, heat, hot water, and air conditioning — which is unusual and a genuine selling point that shapes how the monthly carry compares to buildings where residents pay those separately.
Building operations
The building operates with a 24-hour doorman and concierge and a live-in superintendent. The amenity set is prewar-classic rather than new-development-maximal: the roughly 5,000-square-foot landscaped private garden at the west end is the crown jewel, supported by a furnished, planted roof deck with Midtown views, central laundry, a bicycle room, and individual storage. There is no gym and no garage. Pets are permitted.
The Gramercy House is a primary-residence cooperative with conservative financial requirements: a 40% minimum down payment, subletting permitted only in board-approved hardship situations, and pied-à-terre and co-purchasing arrangements generally not allowed. Guarantors are considered and gifting is allowed. A transfer fee (flip tax) applies. These are the policies of a stable, owner-occupied prewar building — a feature for buyers who value a settled shareholder base, and a constraint for those seeking investment flexibility.
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 latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
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
The Gramercy House trades as an actively liquid prewar Gramercy cooperative, typically with a handful of units on the market at any time and a steady flow of closings. Pricing sits in the range of a well-located prewar co-op rather than a trophy condominium: recent activity centers on the order of roughly $900 per square foot, with studios frequently asking in the high-$300,000s to $500,000s, one-bedrooms roughly $650,000 to $1.25 million depending on floor, condition, and whether a wood-burning fireplace is present, and two-bedrooms starting in the $600,000s. Because co-ops here are marketed by unit and by size rather than by a published room count, price-per-room is best derived at the apartment level during diligence.
The pricing story is a value story. A buyer is acquiring an intact Art Deco apartment two blocks from Gramercy Park, with utilities bundled into maintenance, at a per-foot level well below the new-development and trophy corridors. The trade-off is the co-op's conservative rulebook and the absence of a gym and garage.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2026 | 4M | 1 BA | $397,500 | -5.4% |
| May 4, 2026 | 12R | 1 BA | $375,000 | -6.0% |
| Apr 24, 2026 | 7T | 1 BR · 1 BA | $680,000 | -5.6% |
| Apr 9, 2026 | 13C | 1 BR · 1 BA | $1,050,000 | -4.1% |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 4T | 1 BR · 1 BA | $652,000 | -2.5% |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 2T | 1 BR · 1 BA | $675,000 | -3.4% |
| Mar 3, 2026 | 9P | 1 BR · 1 BA | $640,000 | -5.2% |
| Feb 11, 2026 | 8B | 1 BA | $499,999 | -2.0% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $830/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 1.1% 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 5, 2013 | 16I | $850,500 |
| Dec 9, 2009 | 13F | $395,000 |
| Nov 26, 2003 | 15R | $239,000 |
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 1-00903-7502) 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
This is a primary-residence cooperative. Plan on 40% down, board approval, and a rulebook that does not accommodate pieds-à-terre, investment subletting, or co-purchasing outside hardship. Buyers who need flexibility should look to condominium alternatives; buyers who want a stable, owner-occupied building will find the policy set a feature.
Maintenance includes utilities. Electricity, heat, hot water, and air conditioning are bundled into the monthly maintenance. When comparing carrying costs against other prewar co-ops, normalize for that — the headline maintenance figure covers more than it does at many peers.
Original detail is the value. Wood-burning fireplaces, beamed ceilings, casement windows, and terraces vary unit to unit. Inspect condition carefully and price to it; the spread between renovated and estate-condition apartments is wide.
The architecture is a genuine differentiator. The Blum-designed Art Deco facade is intact and distinctive. View the building in person — the entrance and terra-cotta ornament are the building's signature.
Run the numbers on a co-op basis. Cooperative purchases carry different closing costs and financing mechanics than condominiums. Model the full monthly carry (maintenance, inclusive of utilities here, plus financing) and the board's financial requirements before making an offer.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the architecture and the garden. The Art Deco facade and the roughly 5,000-square-foot private garden are the building's marketing signature and distinguish it from generic Gramercy inventory.
Condition drives price. Renovated units — particularly those retaining a wood-burning fireplace or a terrace — command a premium. Present the apartment's original detail and any renovation work clearly.
Price to the co-op comp set. Comparable sales within the building and among peer Gramercy prewar cooperatives are the right frame, normalized for the utilities-inclusive maintenance.
Prepare buyers for the board. The financial requirements and primary-residence rules screen the buyer pool. Qualified, owner-occupant purchasers move most smoothly through this board.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Gramercy House, also evaluate other well-located Gramercy and Kips Bay prewar and postwar cooperatives with strong service and stable shareholder bases. The Roebling Team can build an apartment-level comparable set across the Gramercy corridor tailored to your budget, layout requirements, and tolerance for co-op rules.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Gramercy — read The Roebling Team Guide to Gramercy.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at The Gramercy House?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Gramercy House would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.