The Channel Club (455 East 86th Street)
455 East 86th Street, New York, NY 10028
- Year built
- 1986
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 141
- Floors
- 39
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted under condominium rules
- Subletting
- Generally permitted under the condominium by-laws
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,166
- Listing discount
- 4.3%
- Recorded sales
- 112
- On record
- 2003–2026
The Channel Club is one of the buildings that defined full-service condominium living at the far eastern edge of Yorkville. Completed in 1986–1987 to a design by Wechsler, Grasso & Menziuso, the 39-story tower rises on the northwest corner of East 86th Street and York Avenue — an address that trades proximity to the express-train spine of the Upper East Side for the light, air, and open outlook of the East River shoreline. Carl Schurz Park and Gracie Mansion sit a short walk east; the building's upper floors capture long East River and city views that the denser blocks closer to Fifth and Park cannot offer.
For a generation of Yorkville buyers, the Channel Club represented a specific proposition: a true white-glove amenity package — indoor pool, fitness center, sauna, children's playroom, garden, full doorstaff — in a condominium with the flexibility that co-op-heavy Yorkville historically lacked. That flexibility is the building's enduring draw. As a condominium, the Channel Club permits pied-à-terre ownership, investor purchases, and subletting under its by-laws, and it accommodates financing at levels that a pre-war Park or Fifth Avenue co-op would rarely entertain. Buyers who need those freedoms — international purchasers, second-home buyers, parents buying for children — find far more room to operate here than in the surrounding cooperative stock.
The building's architecture is of its moment. The reddish-brown brick tower, set back on a raised and landscaped corner plaza, reads as a confident 1980s masonry high-rise rather than a pre-war revival or a contemporary glass tower. Curved corner windows and balconies on many lines give the apartments a distinctive profile and, on the higher floors and eastern exposures, genuinely open sight lines. It is not a landmark, and it does not pretend to pre-war provenance — but within the Yorkville condominium category it remains one of the most complete full-service offerings on the East End.
Architecture and unit composition
The Channel Club's residential program runs from studios to substantial family apartments, including a top-floor six-bedroom, across the tower's approximately 141 residential units. The building's slender floor plate and corner-lot position produce a range of layouts: efficient studios and one-bedrooms on the lower and mid floors, and larger combinable configurations higher in the tower where the East River and city exposures are strongest.
Many lines feature the building's signature curved corner windows and private balconies — features that were a selling point of the original offering and that continue to differentiate the apartments from the flat-façade towers common in the corridor. Higher floors and eastern exposures capture open views over Carl Schurz Park and the East River; western and southern exposures look across the Yorkville and Upper East Side street grid.
View permanence on the eastern exposures is meaningful — the park and the river anchor the outlook to the east, and the low-rise park edge protects those sight lines. Buyers should still confirm exposure and view specifics at the apartment level, since floor, line, and setback all drive the outlook materially within the building.
Building operations
The Channel Club operates as a full-service luxury condominium with a 24-hour doorman, concierge, and a live-in resident manager. The amenity package — a skylit indoor pool, sauna, fitness center, children's playroom, and outdoor Zen garden — is among the more complete in the Yorkville condominium set, and the building offers private storage, bicycle storage, and an attached, independently operated parking garage with direct building access.
Common charges and property taxes fund that staffing and amenity load, and carrying costs at the Channel Club reflect a full-service building rather than a bare-bones one. Buyers should model the full monthly carry — common charges plus property taxes plus utilities and insurance — and, as with any 1980s tower now four decades into occupancy, review current building financial statements, board minutes, any reserve study, and the status of major capital projects (façade, elevators, mechanical systems, pool infrastructure) during due diligence.
Recent sales
The Channel Club trades as a full-service Yorkville condominium, and its pricing behaves accordingly. On a price-per-square-foot basis the building generally sits in the range that a well-run 1980s East End condo commands — meaningfully below the trophy-condo and prime pre-war co-op tiers to the west, and reflecting Yorkville's traditional value relative to the Fifth, Park, and Madison spine. Recent transaction activity has spanned studios in the high-six-figures through larger family apartments at multiples of that, with per-square-foot outcomes varying by floor, line, exposure, view, and renovation condition.
Two factors drive dispersion in the building's results. First, condition: renovated apartments with updated kitchens and baths clear at a premium to dated, original-finish units, and the spread between the two has widened as buyers increasingly price in renovation cost and timeline. Second, exposure and view: the eastern lines with open park and river outlook command a premium over interior and west-facing units on the same floor. Buyers and sellers should treat building-wide averages as a starting point only and price at the apartment level against genuinely comparable lines and floors. (Figures reflect general market framing, not a specific current listing or trade.)
Recent closings 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2026 | 33A | 4 BR · 4 BA · 2,900 sf | $4,250,000 | $1,466/sf | -5.5% |
| Nov 19, 2025 | 22D | 458 sf | $600,000 | $1,310/sf | -4.0% |
| Nov 13, 2025 | 20E | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,325 sf | $1,650,000 | $1,245/sf | off-mkt |
| Sep 10, 2025 | 8D | 1 BR · 555 sf | $640,000 | $1,153/sf | -4.5% |
| Jun 3, 2025 | 37C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,325 sf | $1,750,000 | $1,321/sf | -7.7% |
| May 15, 2025 | 25B | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,640 sf | $2,150,000 | $1,311/sf | -17.1% |
| Jan 16, 2025 | 19D | 1 BA · 458 sf | $545,000 | $1,190/sf | -0.9% |
| Nov 6, 2024 | 14D | 1 BA · 458 sf | $575,000 | $1,255/sf | off-mkt |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,166/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 4.3% 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 19, 2004 | 30B | $1,680,000 |
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 1-01566-7501) 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; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
The condo flexibility is the point. In a Yorkville submarket historically dominated by co-ops, the Channel Club's condominium structure permits pied-à-terre ownership, investor purchases, and subletting under the by-laws, with financing accommodated at levels co-ops rarely allow. If your situation requires any of those freedoms, that flexibility is a material advantage over much of the surrounding stock.
Model the full carry. This is a full-service building with a deep amenity package. Common charges plus property taxes plus utilities and insurance add up; run the complete monthly number before you fall in love with an apartment.
Diligence the building, not just the unit. The tower is roughly four decades into occupancy. Review current financials, board minutes, any reserve study, and the status of façade, elevator, mechanical, and pool capital work. A full-service building's financial health and capital plan are as important as the apartment itself.
Exposure and view drive value. Eastern lines with park and river outlook price above interior and west-facing units. See the specific apartment at multiple times of day, and confirm what the windows actually face.
Mansion tax may apply. Larger apartments can cross the $1M mansion-tax threshold and higher cliffs. Run pricing through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the amenity package and the flexibility. The indoor pool, fitness center, garden, and full doorstaff — combined with condominium ownership rules — are the building's differentiators against co-op competition. The marketing should foreground both.
Condition sets the ceiling. Renovated apartments clear at a premium; dated units get priced for the work. Understand where your apartment sits on that spectrum before setting the number.
Price at the line level. Building-wide averages mislead. Comparable analysis should hold floor, line, and exposure roughly constant to be meaningful.
Closing timelines are condo-fast. Condominium transactions typically move from contract to closing on a shorter, more predictable timeline than the surrounding co-ops.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Channel Club, also evaluate:
- 400 East 84th Street (The Strathmore) — Yorkville full-service tower with a pool; comparable amenity depth
- 40 East End Avenue — East End condominium near Carl Schurz Park; newer construction
- 200 East 94th Street — full-service Upper East Side condominium; strong amenity package
- 180 East 88th Street — contemporary Yorkville condominium tower
- 170 East 78th Street — Upper East Side condominium; lower-rise, boutique alternative
- 180 East 79th Street — Upper East Side condominium in the Lenox Hill / East 70s corridor
The Roebling Team at The Channel Club
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper East Side, including Yorkville and the East End, along with the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because condominium buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, amenity reality, board policy, carrying-cost mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at The Channel Club, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point. We'll bring the full context this page provides plus the transactional specifics your situation requires — financial structuring, due diligence priorities, comparable analysis at the line level, and the pacing strategy that fits your timeline.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
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