Gracie Towne House (401 East 89th Street)
401 East 89th Street, New York, NY 10128
Yorkville, Upper East Side
BBL 1015697502 · BIN 1076331
- Year built
- 1960
- Type
- Condop
- Units
- 197
- Floors
- 18
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Pets permitted
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
- Financing
- Up to approximately 80 percent financing (condop / co-op model — a 20 percent minimum down payment)
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 2BR median
- $1.1M
- Recent range
- $525K – $2.6M
- Listing discount
- 4.5%
- Recorded transfers
- 103
Gracie Towne House is a full-service post-war building at the corner of First Avenue and 89th Street in far-eastern Yorkville, and its defining fact is its ownership structure: it is a condop. A co-op corporation — 401 East 89th Street Owners Corp. — owns the residential portion, so buyers purchase shares and finance on a cooperative model, but the house rules carry condominium-style flexibility. The building's DOF-registered owner name ends in "Owners Corp.," which reflects that cooperative-share structure rather than a traditional restrictive co-op.
That structure is the entire value proposition, and this building runs it at one of the most permissive settings in the corridor. Where a conventional Yorkville co-op typically requires a board interview, caps financing, charges a flip tax, and restricts subletting to a handful of years, Gracie Towne House conducts no board interview, charges no flip tax, permits unlimited subletting with no sublet fee, allows up to roughly 80 percent financing, welcomes pied-à-terre and guarantor and co-purchase structures, and sits on owned land with no ground lease. The result is a full-service building that is structurally accessible to first-time buyers, pied-à-terre buyers, and investors alike — and priced on a cooperative (per-room) convention that keeps absolute prices below the condominium tier.
The location is the honest trade. The building sits far east near the river, beside Asphalt Green and near Carl Schurz Park — quiet, green, and river-adjacent — with a longer walk to the subway than a mid-corridor address. Buyers who value the setting and the flexible rules read the location as a feature; buyers who prioritize transit weigh it.
Building operations
Gracie Towne House operates as a full-service building with a 24-hour doorman and concierge and a live-in resident manager. The amenity package includes a fitness center, a children's playroom, laundry on every floor, an on-site valet parking garage, a bike room, storage, a renovated lobby, and a rooftop terrace. There is no pool — a reasonable omission given the building's position directly beside Asphalt Green's Olympic-size pool complex.
Because the building owns its land, there is no ground-lease reset risk — a meaningful structural advantage over corridor buildings that carry ground leases. Buyers should still review the building's financials, reserve position, and any assessments during due diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $109,386/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $46
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 →Management & transfer contacts
- Sublet policy
- Liberal sublet policy allowed
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed (guarantors, co-signing, pied-a-terres permitted)
- Notable fees
- Max financing 90%; seller managing agent's fee $900 (individual) / $1,000 (estate); NY State transfer tax $0.05/share
Recent sales
Gracie Towne House trades as a flexible, accessible full-service Yorkville building. Recent closings have run broadly in the $1,000 to $1,100 per share-equivalent square foot range, with the studios and one-bedrooms serving as the building's currency and the larger A-line homes carrying the premium. Because the building is priced on a cooperative (per-room) convention, comparable analysis should reference the room count and layout rather than a strict per-square-foot figure.
The building's flexibility — no interview, no flip tax, unlimited sublets, 80 percent financing — supports a consistently active resale market and a wide buyer pool. Pricing should reference recent comparable trades on the specific line rather than a single building-wide average.
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 | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2026 | 7N | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,100 sf | $1,130,000 | $1,027/sf | -12.7% |
| Jul 30, 2025 | 7A | 3 BR · 2.5 BA | $1,650,000 | +0.0% | |
| Nov 12, 2024 | 8P | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,038 sf | $1,140,000 | $1,098/sf | +4.1% |
| Jul 22, 2024 | 11D | 1 BA | $525,000 | -4.5% | |
| Jun 26, 2024 | 6C | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,550 sf | $1,540,000 | $994/sf | -12.3% |
| May 8, 2024 | 10K | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,566,000 | -5.0% | |
| Mar 22, 2024 | 6A | 3 BR · 2 BA · 1,503 sf | $1,550,000 | $1,031/sf | -22.3% |
| Aug 8, 2023 | 15A | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 1,862 sf | $2,640,000 | $1,418/sf | -4.0% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $992/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 2.0% 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 1-01569-7502) 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; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
The flexible condop structure is the point. No board interview, no flip tax, unlimited subletting with no fee, 80 percent financing, pied-à-terre and investor use permitted — one of the most accessible full-service buildings in the corridor.
Owned land removes ground-lease risk. The cooperative owns the land, so there is no ground-rent reset to model.
Weigh the transit trade. The far-east river-side location is quiet and green but a longer walk to the subway.
Confirm current terms at offer stage. Condop rules can evolve; confirm financing, sublet, and fee terms with the managing agent and offering plan.
What to know if you’re selling
The flexibility is the marketing story. No interview, no flip tax, unlimited sublets, and 80 percent financing widen the buyer pool well beyond the traditional co-op purchaser.
No flip tax is a net-proceeds advantage. Most corridor co-ops carry one; this building does not.
Price on the cooperative convention. Reference room count, layout, and the specific line's recent comparables.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering Gracie Towne House, also evaluate:
- 1175 York Avenue (York River House) — Lenox Hill condop with a comparable flexible-ownership structure
- 400 East 84th Street (The Strathmore) — nearby Yorkville tower converting to condop, with a pool and squash court
- 400 East 85th Street — Yorkville full-service cooperative with an accessible policy framework
- 200 East 89th Street (The Monarch) — nearby Yorkville condominium with an indoor atrium pool
- 360 East 88th Street (Leighton House) — Polshek-designed Yorkville condominium
- The Kent (200 East 95th Street) — newer Carnegie Hill condominium (trade-up comparison)
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
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 Gracie Towne 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 Gracie Towne 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.