40 Sutton Place
40 Sutton Place, New York, NY 10022
- Year built
- 1966
- Type
- Condominium — the only condominium building on Sutton Place proper, in an enclave otherwise composed of cooperatives and townhouses
- Units
- 74
- Floors
- 10
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted, with a 35-pound weight limit per listing records
- Financing
- 20 percent minimum down per brokerage records — verify at offer stage
Every recorded sale at this building, 2022–2025
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Recorded sales
- 6
- On record
- 2022–2025
Sutton Place is a co-op enclave — One Sutton Place South, River House, the Cannon Point co-ops, the townhouse blocks that society built out in the 1920s — and 40 Sutton Place is its single structural exception. This is the only condominium on Sutton Place proper, which means it is effectively the only way to own on this riverfront enclave without a cooperative board's financial regime: pied-à-terre ownership is permitted, financing runs to a conventional 20 percent down, and transfer runs on condo mechanics rather than board consent. In a corridor whose great co-ops are famously selective, that exception is the building's entire market thesis, and it is a durable one.
The setting does real work. The building holds the east blockfront of Sutton Place between East 58th and 59th Streets — the quietest end of an already quiet enclave, beside Sutton Place Park and the East 59th Street river overlook, with the Queensboro Bridge composing the view to the northeast. Eastern lines look over the river to Roosevelt Island; at night the bridge lighting is the corridor's signature. The architecture is modest post-war brick — beige brick on a polished black granite base under a canopied entrance — and the enclave's appeal has never depended on it: Sutton Place trades on privacy, river frontage, and the cul-de-sac calm that comes from having no through traffic east of First Avenue.
The conversion history adds a practical wrinkle. The building went condominium around 1981 per brokerage records — early for Manhattan — and the documentation conventions of that era (including a 3 percent transfer fee, a co-op-style mechanism unusual in condominiums) survive in the building's framework per listing records. Buyers should treat the fee stack and policy details as diligence items rather than assumptions; the governing documents settle them.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises ten floors per city records across roughly 200 feet of Sutton Place frontage, with about 74 apartments running from efficient studios through one- and two-bedrooms to the penthouse tier. Many units carry hardwood floors, generous storage, and the eastern river exposures that drive pricing; the penthouses are the trophy inventory, with private terraces over 300 square feet, solariums, and working fireplaces in select units per listing records. The commercial base — home to a private preschool — keeps the streetfront occupied and quiet. Buyers should map line-by-line: the spread between a west-facing studio and an east-facing river line is the widest pricing variable in the building.
Building operations
Full-service at boutique scale: 24-hour doorman, live-in superintendent, porters, central laundry, bike room, and private storage available to residents. There is no concierge layer, no roof deck, and no garage — the building is a service house, not an amenity house, and its monthly carry reflects that. In-unit washer/dryers are permitted per listing records. Building-specific governing documents — offering plan, by-laws, current financial statements — should be obtained through the managing agent during diligence; The Roebling Research Library maintains corridor-level documentation for Sutton Place, including governing documents and financials for neighboring cooperatives, which is useful for cross-shopping the enclave.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $42,628/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $48
Recent sales
Recent closings at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 5, 2025 | 3G | $535,000 |
| Nov 17, 2023 | 4A | $533,333 |
| Jan 18, 2023 | — | $4,600,000 |
| Sep 26, 2022 | 7F | $575,000 |
| Jun 24, 2022 | 4H | $880,000 |
| Jun 1, 2022 | 7J | $588,300 |
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01370-7501) 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 structure is the scarcity. If you want to own on Sutton Place proper — as a pied-à-terre, through an entity structure, or simply without a co-op board interview — this is functionally the only building. Confirm specific ownership structures with the managing agent and your attorney, but the baseline flexibility is the asset.
Underwrite the fee stack before you bid. The 3 percent transfer fee documented in listing records is unusual for a condominium and materially changes seller economics and negotiating math. Verify amount, payer, and any exemptions against the by-laws at offer stage.
Buy the line, not the building average. East-facing river and bridge exposures are the product; interior and west lines are priced accordingly. Same-line history matters more here than building-wide $/sf.
Price the transit honestly. The 4/5/6/N/R/W at Lexington–59th and the E/M at 53rd are roughly half a mile west. For drivers and car-service users the FDR access is excellent; for daily subway commuters, walk it once before offering.
Reconcile the records. Year built, floor count, and conversion details vary across public data feeds for this parcel — and the address itself appears in city records under numbers from 34 to 60 Sutton Place. None of this is substantive risk, but your attorney should confirm the legal description and offering-plan history cleanly during diligence.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the only-condo position explicitly. Your buyer pool includes everyone the enclave's co-ops turn away or deter: pied-à-terre purchasers, international buyers, trust and LLC structures, and co-op-fatigued downsizers. The marketing should name the structural facts rather than gesture at "luxury."
Anchor against the co-ops, then adjust for structure. The honest comparable set is 1 and 2 Sutton Place South, the Cannon Point buildings, and the East 57th Street co-ops — at their pricing plus a premium for condo mechanics, net of the transfer fee. We build that bridge analysis for every listing.
Net-sheet the transfer fee from day one. Three percent off the top changes pricing strategy. Run the Seller Closing Cost Calculator with the fee included before setting the ask.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 40 Sutton Place, also evaluate:
- 1 Sutton Place South — the enclave's blue-chip pre-war co-op; the prestige benchmark
- 2 Sutton Place South — post-war full-service co-op at the enclave's center
- 25 Sutton Place South — Cannon Point North; the corridor's large post-war co-op alternative
- 45 Sutton Place South — Cannon Point South; like-for-like post-war river views
- River House (435 East 52nd Street) — the corridor's trophy co-op; the opposite end of the board-rigor spectrum
- 425 East 58th Street (The Sovereign) — the immediate neighbor; large-scale post-war co-op with river views
- Sutton Tower (430 East 58th Street) — the block's new-development condominium alternative at a far higher price point
- 959 First Avenue (The Sutton) — the nearby 2017 boutique condo; the modern-product comparison
The Roebling Team at 40 Sutton Place
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Sutton Place enclave and the broader East River co-op and condo corridor as a core practice area. We publish this building profile because 40 Sutton Place buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — the only-condo structural position, the conversion-era policy framework, and honest co-op cross-comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 40 Sutton Place, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.