- Year built
- 1911
- Type
- Condop — city records class the building as an elevator cooperative
- Units
- 24
- Floors
- 7
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted
- Financing
- 20 percent minimum down per listing records
Loft 55 is a structural rarity twice over. First, it is genuine loft stock in a neighborhood that has almost none: a 1911 carriage house turned commercial loft, west of the Midtown core, converted in 2004 into 24 residences with 10-to-16-foot ceilings and open floor plates of a kind Hell's Kitchen's tenement-and-tower housing mix simply does not otherwise produce. Second, it is a condop run on condominium rules — listing records across multiple sale cycles document unlimited subletting, pied-à-terre and live/work use, guarantors, international ownership, and approval without a board interview. For investors, relocating buyers, and anyone allergic to co-op board mechanics, that combination is scarce at this price tier anywhere in Manhattan.
The conversion itself was a thorough one. Anbau — the firm later responsible for boutique condominiums in Chelsea and on the Upper East Side — acquired the building and executed a complete interior and core replacement behind the restored original facade, adding a new penthouse level with open city views. The result reads from the street as a preserved piece of the block's working past and lives, inside, as 21st-century construction: concrete structure, central air, in-unit laundry, and loft-scaled rooms.
The location argument has only strengthened since 2004. The building sits three blocks south of Columbus Circle and two blocks from the 57th Street corridor, inside the Special Clinton District — the zoning regime that protects this stretch's low-rise scale even as supertall construction transformed 57th Street to the northeast. Buyers get Central Park, the Theater District, Lincoln Center, and the Columbus Circle transit hub (A/B/C/D/1) within a ten-minute walk, with a quiet mid-block address that cannot be built around.
Architecture and unit composition
The facade is restored early-20th-century brick commercial vernacular — the building was erected in 1911 as a horse carriage house, and the conversion's architectural research returned the street elevation to its original character while the interior was demolished and rebuilt. The 24 residences are true loft plans: predominantly two- and three-bedroom layouts with ceiling heights from roughly 10 feet on the lower floors to 16 feet at the top of the original structure, oversized windows, and, on select units, terraces and skylights. The added penthouse level carries the building's trophy inventory, with expansive city views and a gas fireplace. A 16-foot-high lobby sets the tone at entry. Because the interiors date uniformly to 2004, condition variance across the building is narrower than in most conversions — the spread is finish-level upgrades, not gut-versus-original.
Building operations
This is a lean boutique operation, and buyers should price the trade honestly: no full-time doorman, no amenity floor, no garage. Access runs on keyed elevators with zone-based video security and a virtual doorman system; a porter covers weekdays, packages route through a dedicated package room, and private storage is available. The payoff is carrying-cost discipline — the service layer you are not paying for is the main line item separating this building from the staffed condos nearby. Policy specifics are thinly documented in public records, which is typical of small condops; we verify the current policy stack directly with the managing agent during diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $22,264/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $77
Recent sales
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Recent transfers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2025 | 3C | $1,100,000 |
| Jul 7, 2023 | 2B | $995,000 |
| Oct 14, 2022 | 3C | $935,000 |
| Jun 16, 2022 | 3B | $1,206,500 |
| Jun 7, 2022 | 4D | $1,050,000 |
| Aug 2, 2021 | 2C | $945,000 |
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 1-01065-0021) 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 rules are the product. Unlimited subletting, pied-à-terre and live/work use, and approval without a board interview make this one of the most flexible ownership structures in the neighborhood. If your plans include renting the unit out, buying through a structure, or non-primary use, this building was effectively designed for you — but confirm the current policy stack and the legal structure against the offering plan and managing agent before contract, because public documentation of condop terms is thin.
Understand what "condop" means here. City records class the building as a cooperative; the market operates it on condo rules. Your attorney should confirm how title, financing, and approval mechanics actually run — the practical answer per listing records is condo-style, but the paper matters.
Self-service is structural. No doorman, no garage, no gym. Buyers trading from full-service buildings should weigh package logistics and staffing against the materially lower monthly carry. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator against any staffed alternative — the spread is the argument.
Price the block, not the borough. The Special Clinton District keeps this stretch low-rise and quiet; the 57th Street supertall corridor is two blocks away but a different world. Spend time on the block at night before deciding — buyers who want the quiet love it, and buyers who want the action should look east.
Loft mechanics still apply. Ceiling heights and window placement vary by floor, and the 2004 systems are now two decades old. Have your inspection cover the central air and in-unit mechanicals, and review the building's capital posture with the managing agent.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the structure as hard as the space. The buyer pool for "no board interview, unlimited subletting, loft ceilings, 2004 construction" is wider than the buyer pool for any one of those features — it includes investors, international buyers, and pied-à-terre purchasers that co-op listings on the same block cannot reach. The marketing should say so explicitly.
Anchor against the staffed-condo discount. Your comparables are the Columbus Circle and Midtown West condominiums where buyers cross-shop; the pitch is comparable interiors at a meaningful per-foot discount, with the carrying-cost delta documented. Building-internal comps are thin at 24 units, so adjacent-stock comps carry the pricing argument.
Lead with volume. Photograph the ceiling height and the light — the 10-to-16-foot envelope is the feature that generic Midtown West inventory cannot match, and it is what justifies the loft premium over same-sized flat stock.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 419 West 55th Street, also evaluate:
- Stella Tower (425 West 50th Street) — Ralph Walker's 1927 telephone-building-to-condo conversion; the neighborhood's pre-war-character benchmark at a higher price point
- The Dillon (425 West 53rd Street) — low-rise boutique condo with townhouse-style duplexes one block south; the new-construction alternative
- 540West (540 West 49th Street) — boutique condo with outdoor-space-driven layouts in the heart of Hell's Kitchen
- The Armory (529 West 42nd Street) — converted loft condominium; the closest like-for-like loft envelope in the district
- Worldwide Plaza (350 West 50th Street) — full-service condo tower; the staffed high-rise alternative
- 205 West 54th Street (The Albemarle) — 1903 apartment-hotel-turned-co-op three blocks east; the pre-war co-op alternative with similar character stock
- The Osborne (205 West 57th Street) — the 1885 landmark co-op at 57th and Seventh; the corridor's heritage trophy for buyers trading up on character
The Roebling Team at Loft 55
The Roebling Team at Compass works Midtown West, the 57th Street corridor, and Manhattan's boutique loft stock as part of our broader practice. We publish this building profile because Loft 55 buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — conversion history, condop mechanics, and like-for-like comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 419 West 55th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.