- Year built
- 2004
- Type
- Condominium
- Floors
- 16
- Amenities
- Attended lobby, fitness center, roof deck, bicycle room, central laundry, and live-in resident manager per listing and architectural records; a children's playroom appears in some listing records — verify current facilities
Every recorded sale at this building, 2024–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Recorded sales
- 27
- On record
- 2024–2026
Riverwalk Place was the building that brought condominium ownership to modern Roosevelt Island. The island's housing stock was built in the 1970s as a state-sponsored rental and Mitchell-Lama community; when RIOC designated the Related/Hudson joint venture in 1997 to develop Southtown — the nine-building Riverwalk master plan at the island's southern end — 455 Main Street became its for-sale anchor, offered in September 2004 with 230 residential units. For buyers, that history matters structurally: this is one of a very small number of condominium buildings on an island otherwise dominated by rentals and legacy co-op stock, and it sits at the island's best-connected corner, with the F train and the tram effectively at the door.
The Cornell connection is written into the building's DNA. Eighty-eight of the 230 units were conveyed to Cornell University at the plan stage — the offering plan on file states it plainly — and the university's medical-campus housing presence (formalized years before the Cornell Tech campus opened on the island in 2017) gives the building a stable institutional ownership block and a steady population of physicians and academics. The Cornell Tech campus a short walk south has since added a second institutional gravity well, along with the island's strongest argument for long-term demand.
The value thesis is the commute-to-price ratio. The Roosevelt Island F stop is one station from 63rd and Lexington; the tram lands at 59th Street and Second Avenue; and the ferry connects to Astoria and points along the East River. Against that, the building's pricing has historically run at a meaningful discount per square foot to comparable post-2000 condo product across the channel on the Upper East Side — with western exposures looking at the Manhattan skyline, the Queensboro Bridge's towers, and the tram cabins crossing in front of them. Buyers should also understand what the island is not: a Manhattan retail corridor. Main Street's commercial strip is modest, and the island's quiet is the point.
Architecture and unit composition
SLCE's design is a pragmatic 16-story tower (recorded as 18 stories in some records) with an unusual 18-sided plan and a large angled east-side setback — geometry that multiplies corner conditions and angled living-room walls through the line stock. Apartments run from studios and one-bedrooms around 600–850 square feet through two-bedrooms near 1,000 square feet and three-bedroom lines around 1,400 square feet per listing records, many with entry galleries and defined dining areas. The premium inventory faces west: river, skyline, bridge, and tram views that read as front-row Manhattan from a building priced well below it. Ninety-two storage bins were offered with the original plan; storage availability today should be confirmed with the managing agent.
Building operations
The building operates as a full-service condominium scaled to its size: attended lobby, live-in resident manager, fitness center, roof deck, bike room, and central laundry. The sponsor structure — with retained rental rights and the Cornell block — means the ownership mix has always blended owner-occupants, institutional units, and rentals; the current ratio, budget, and board composition are standard diligence questions we run through the managing agent. The offering plan, its amendments, and the RIOC lease exhibit are on file in The Roebling Research Library and available to clients during diligence.
The ground lease is the headline diligence item. Roosevelt Island's land is city-owned and administered by RIOC under a master lease that runs to 2068, and the building sits on a ground lease within that framework — the lease agreement is an exhibit to the offering plan on file. Ground-lease buildings carry their own underwriting questions: how ground rent flows through common charges, what happens at reset or expiration horizons, and how lenders treat the remaining term. None of this is exotic — it is the standard condition of the island — but your attorney should review the lease terms, and financing should be arranged with a lender familiar with Roosevelt Island product.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $69,054/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $25
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2026 | 16A | $770,000 |
| Mar 5, 2026 | 15E | $1,190,000 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | PH2-G | $2,150,000 |
| Feb 19, 2026 | PH2G | $1,380,000 |
| Jan 29, 2026 | 10E | $1,360,000 |
| Jan 23, 2026 | 16E | $1,190,000 |
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 1-01373-7501) 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
Underwrite the ground lease first. The 2068 master-lease horizon and the building's RIOC lease are the structural facts of ownership here. Have your attorney review the lease exhibit (on file with us) and confirm with the managing agent how ground rent and any reset provisions run through the common charges before you price an offer.
The commute is better than the address suggests. One F stop to 63rd/Lexington, the tram to 59th and Second, and the ferry — for many Midtown and UES commuters this beats large swaths of Manhattan proper. Test it at rush hour; the F's service patterns are the honest variable.
Know the ownership mix. Cornell's 88-unit block and the sponsor's retained rental rights mean this has never been a purely owner-occupied building. That brings stability and a professional tenant base, but ask the current owner-occupancy and rental figures during diligence — they matter for financing and for board dynamics.
Exposure drives everything. West-facing river lines are the building's product; east-facing lines are its value tier. Price them as different markets.
Calibrate island life honestly. Quiet, green, car-light, with parkland at both ends of the island — and a thin retail strip. Households that want stroller space and river air love it; buyers who need a corner bodega ecosystem should spend a weekend day here first.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the connectivity, not just the views. The buyer pool that converts here is commute-driven: lead with the F-station and tram adjacency, then the river-view product. Cornell Tech's presence is a demand argument worth stating plainly.
Get ahead of ground-lease questions. Every well-advised buyer's attorney will ask. We provide the lease exhibit and plan documents from the Research Library at contract stage so the question is answered before it becomes a negotiation.
Price against the island first, Manhattan second. The relevant comps are the neighboring Riverwalk condos; the UES discount is the closing argument, not the anchor. Same-line history within the building is thin enough that exposure-adjusted island comps carry the pricing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 455 Main Street, also evaluate:
- Riverwalk Court (415 Main Street) — the neighboring Riverwalk condominium; the closest like-for-like comp
- Riverwalk Landing (425 Main Street) — Riverwalk condo neighbor between the two
- The Octagon (888 Main Street) — the island's landmark-anchored rental alternative at the northern end
- Rivercross (531 Main Street) — the island's legacy co-op; the ownership alternative with a very different policy framework
- Island House (551–575 Main Street) — 1970s Main Street housing stock, the island's original fabric
- Manhattan Park (River Road) — the island's large 1980s rental complex
- 430 East 58th Street — a mainland Sutton-area alternative near the tram's Manhattan terminal
- 167 East 61st Street — the cross-channel UES comparison one subway stop away
The Roebling Team at Riverwalk Place
The Roebling Team at Compass covers Roosevelt Island as part of our broader East River and Upper East Side practice. We publish this building profile because Riverwalk Place buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — ground-lease mechanics, the institutional ownership structure, and island-specific comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 455 Main Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.