390 Riverside Drive
390 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10025
BBL 1018940031 · BIN 1057323
- Year built
- 1924
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 106
- Floors
- 15
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Not published — confirm with the managing agent
Every recorded sale at this building, 2005–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $743K
- Recent range
- $645K – $2.7M
- Listing discount
- 4.2%
- Recorded transfers
- 64
Three Riverside Drive cooperatives sit on three consecutive tax blocks at the top of the Drive, and they are routinely confused with one another. 390 Riverside is on block 1894, at West 111th Street. 395 Riverside — the Matincote — is on the same block, at the 112th Street corner. 404 Riverside, the Strathmore, is on block 1895 at 113th. 370 and 375 Riverside sit south of them on block 1893 at Cathedral Parkway. All five are in the Morningside Heights Historic District, and all five trade to overlapping buyer pools, but their financials, policies and architecture are not interchangeable.
What distinguishes 390 is that it is the largest and the latest of the group, and the most conventionally full-service. Gaetan Ajello designed it in 1924–25, at the very end of a career that produced a long run of the Upper West Side's best pre-war apartment houses; the Matincote one block north, from the same years and the same developer entity, is effectively its sibling. The register at 390 is Colonial Revival rather than the neo-Renaissance Ajello worked in a decade earlier: brick with limestone trim, disciplined rather than ornamented, with the Riverside Drive elevation taking the park exposure and the long West 111th Street flank running east.
Fifteen stories and 106 apartments give the building the scale to support a real staff, a furnished roof deck and an exercise room — amenities the smaller pre-war houses on these blocks cannot carry. It also gives it the scale to spread capital cost, and the corporation has used that.
The financial profile is the strongest argument for the building. The corporation refinanced in March 2021 into a $2.5 million first mortgage at 2.99 percent for ten years, maturing April 1, 2031, with a $500,000 line of credit alongside it that remains undrawn. Against 106 apartments that is roughly $23,000 of underlying debt per unit at a rate no co-op will see again this decade, and the maturity is far enough out that no buyer purchasing today is buying into a refinancing problem. That is the sort of thing that does not appear on a listing and materially changes what a buyer should be willing to pay.
Architecture and unit composition
Fifteen floors over a lot of roughly 12,850 square feet, with about 157,000 square feet of building — a fuller, denser envelope than the 1900s houses to the north, and a taller one. The building is built out to its lot lines on both street frontages, so the light story is exposure-driven: Riverside Drive lines carry protected park and Hudson outlook that cannot be built out; West 111th Street lines run east toward Broadway; interior lines face the lot.
The apartment mix runs from smaller one- and two-bedroom layouts through large classic pre-war plans with separated entertaining and sleeping wings. Combinations have reduced the count from the plan-era number to 106, so line-to-line variation is significant and floor plans do not repeat cleanly through the building. DOB alteration filings on record show a steady stream of individual apartment renovations across the last fifteen years, which is a useful signal: it is a building where the board approves work and shareholders do it.
Building operations
A staffed, union house — building employees are covered by the SEIU Local 32BJ collective agreement — with an attended lobby, a furnished roof deck, a fee-based exercise room, central laundry and storage. Heat is gas; the audited statements record a completed gas conversion, with the forecast built on the resulting fuel savings.
Capital posture, from the audited statements on file. The corporation contracted in 2019 for a Local Law 11 facade restoration at a revised contract value of roughly $2.45 million, of which about $2.16 million had been paid by the most recent year-end on file, with retainage accrued. That is a large program for a building of this size and it is essentially complete — a buyer today is inheriting a finished facade cycle rather than an approaching one. The reserve fund stood near $995,000 at that year-end, down from roughly $1.70 million the prior year as capital spending drew it down; capital improvements on the balance sheet have risen by roughly $700,000 in each of the last two reported years.
The corporation runs a recurring annual assessment sized to the citywide co-op tax abatement — most recently about $2.71 per share, which is close to what the abatement returns. Practically, that means shareholders should read the abatement credit on their tax bill as offset rather than as savings. Maintenance rose 3.0 percent effective January 2022 and 6.8 percent effective January 2023, the latter reflecting real estate taxes that now run over $1.2 million a year and are the corporation's single largest expense.
The audited statements record small operating losses after depreciation in each of the two most recent reported years, against positive income from operations before depreciation. For a fully depreciated pre-war building carrying an active capital program, that is an accounting outcome rather than a distress signal — but a buyer's attorney should read the current year's statement, not this summary.
Policy framework
Flip tax: the greater of 2 percent of gross sale price or 15 percent of profit, paid by the seller; 5 percent of gross price on sponsor units. This is the policy item most likely to surprise a seller here. On an apartment bought in the 1990s or 2000s, the 15-percent-of-profit test will almost certainly exceed the 2 percent test, and the difference can be six figures. Model it before you set a price.
Financing ceiling and minimum down payment: not published. Buildings of this vintage and conversion era on the upper Drive commonly sit somewhere between 70 and 80 percent maximum financing, but that is a corridor pattern, not this building's rule — get the current purchase requirements from the managing agent.
Post-closing liquidity and debt-to-income standards: not published. Assume the board applies a stated liquidity requirement and a debt-to-income ceiling; ask for both in writing before you write an offer.
Subletting: permitted with board approval and a fee — the audited statements show sublet-fee income in each reported year — but the volume is low. Seasoning, maximum term and the fee schedule are not published.
Pied-à-terre, trusts, LLCs, guarantors and co-purchase: not published. A co-op with a profit-based flip tax and low sublet volume is generally structured around primary-residence ownership, but the board's actual posture has to come from the managing agent rather than from inference.
Sponsor units: the sponsor still held about 3.5 percent of shares at the most recent year-end on file and has been selling down. Sponsor apartments carry a 5 percent transfer fee and are not board-approval transactions in the ordinary sense; if you are shown one, the diligence is different.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →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.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
390 Riverside trades as the full-service option in a stretch of the Drive otherwise dominated by smaller pre-war houses without amenity. The buyer pool is Columbia- and hospital-driven, with a meaningful share of households trading up from rentals in the neighborhood and a second share coming north out of the 80s and 90s for room count. Pricing follows exposure first — park-facing Riverside Drive lines against interior and 111th Street lines — and condition second.
Two building-level facts should anchor a pricing conversation: a completed Local Law 11 program and a 2.99 percent underlying mortgage that does not mature until 2031. Both argue against the assessment risk that buyers reflexively price into a hundred-year-old co-op. Working against that, honestly stated, is the profit-based flip tax, which sophisticated buyers will read as a real reduction in a seller's net and which occasionally shows up in negotiation. Unit-level transaction history is maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence.
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2026 | 6D | 1 BR · 1 BA | $845,000 | +0.0% | |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 5G | 1 BR · 1 BA · 700 sf | $685,000 | $979/sf | -4.2% |
| Mar 19, 2026 | 1A | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,080 sf | $895,000 | $829/sf | -3.2% |
| Jan 22, 2026 | 4D | 1 BR · 1 BA · 800 sf | $645,000 | $806/sf | -0.8% |
| Jan 8, 2026 | 11E | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,756,000 | -5.1% | |
| Jul 27, 2025 | 7A | 2 BR · 1 BA | $1,100,000 | -2.2% | |
| Apr 12, 2024 | 5B | 2 BR · 1 BA | $930,000 | -15.5% | |
| Feb 1, 2024 | 7B | 2 BR · 1 BA | $998,500 | -8.8% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $806/sf across 3 sales. Median listing discount 3.2% 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 1-01894-0031) 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
Get the current purchase requirements before you bid. Financing ceiling, minimum down, post-closing liquidity and debt-to-income are not published for this building. They are the four numbers that decide whether your offer is real.
The debt and facade picture is favorable — verify it in the current audit. A 2.99 percent mortgage maturing April 2031 and a substantially complete Local Law 11 program are the two best things about this building's balance sheet. Confirm both in the most recent audited statement, along with reserves and any live assessment.
Read the abatement assessment correctly. The recurring assessment is sized to the co-op tax abatement. Model your carry on maintenance plus assessment, not on maintenance alone. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator.
Historic district rules apply. Exterior work runs through LPC under the Morningside Heights designation — not the Riverside–West End designation. Windows, through-wall units and any facade-visible alteration need that path.
Don't confuse the buildings. 390, 395 and 404 Riverside are three different corporations on two different tax blocks with three different flip taxes and three different balance sheets. Comparables must be drawn building by building.
What to know if you’re selling
Model the flip tax before you price. Greater of 2 percent of gross or 15 percent of profit. On a long hold, the profit test governs and the fee is substantial. Build it into your net-proceeds analysis at the outset — run the Seller Closing Cost Calculator.
Market the balance sheet. The 2021 refinancing at 2.99 percent through 2031, the undrawn line of credit and the completed facade program are attorney-verifiable and they answer the questions buyers ask about pre-war co-ops. We supply the underlying documents from the Research Library to serious buyers' counsel.
Lead with exposure. Park-facing Riverside Drive lines are the building's premium product and should be priced against the corridor's park-front inventory, not against generic Morningside Heights stock.
Be plain about the assessment. The abatement-offset assessment is permanent in practice. Disclosing it up front prevents the carrying-cost surprise that kills deals late.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 390 Riverside Drive, also evaluate:
- 395 Riverside Drive (The Matincote) — Ajello, 1924–25, same developer entity, same block, one corner north at West 112th; the closest like-for-like in the city
- 404 Riverside Drive (The Strathmore) — Schwartz & Gross, 1908–09, at West 113th; the earlier, smaller, no-sponsor alternative
- 375 Riverside Drive — Ajello park-front co-op at Cathedral Parkway
- 370 Riverside Drive — the Cathedral Parkway corner co-op on block 1893
- 355 Riverside Drive — park-front pre-war co-op a few blocks south
- 345 Riverside Drive — pre-war Drive co-op at West 106th
- 340 Riverside Drive — the West 106th corner house
- 325 Riverside Drive — pre-war park-front co-op in the 105th Street group
- 314 Riverside Drive — smaller pre-war Drive co-op at West 104th
- 300 Riverside Drive — George F. Pelham park-front co-op at West 102nd
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Riverside Drive — read The Roebling Team Guide to Riverside Drive.
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.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent.
Considering a move at 390 Riverside Drive?
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 390 Riverside Drive 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.