50 West 15th Street
50 West 15th Street, New York, NY 10011
Flatiron
BBL 1008167503 · BIN 1087941
- Year built
- 2008
- Type
- Condominium
Every recorded sale at this building, 2008–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,858
- Listing discount
- 2.3%
- Recorded sales
- 111
- On record
- 2008–2026
The Oculus is the rare new-millennium condominium that chose masonry over glass. Completed in 2008 by Alchemy Properties to a design by FXFowle Architects, the ten-story building wears a terracotta façade detailed in a register that nods to the pre-war loft stock of Sixth Avenue and West 15th Street rather than the curtain-wall towers going up around it at the time. The result reads as if it belongs on the block — which on this stretch of the Flatiron–Chelsea seam, a few steps from both Union Square and the Sixth Avenue retail spine, is exactly the point.
For a buyer, the building's appeal is its position and its scale. Forty-seven residences across ten floors make for a manageable condominium with real services, set on a side street that is quiet by Flatiron standards yet within a two- or three-block walk of the L, F/M, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, and W trains at Union Square and Sixth Avenue. The condominium structure — financing latitude, ownership flexibility, a light right-of-first-refusal rather than a co-op board — sits on top of all of it.
Architecture and unit composition
The exterior is the building's signature: terracotta and brick massed to mediate between the masonry warehouses of the block and the contemporary residences inside. The 47 homes range from studios to three-bedrooms, roughly 600 to 2,300 square feet, and a large share — about twenty of them — carry private outdoor space, from balconies to setback terraces. Interiors were delivered with a high-specification sponsor finish program: wide-plank or Brazilian cherry floors, Poggenpohl kitchen cabinetry, Viking appliances, and marble baths with radiant-heated floors. Ceiling heights and window proportions reflect the ground-up construction; the planning leans toward the loft-like open layouts the neighborhood's buyers expect.
Building operations
The Oculus runs as a full-service condominium. A full-time doorman staffs the attended lobby, with a live-in resident manager and porter handling day-to-day operations and an advanced video-intercom system at entry. The amenity set is calibrated to the building's boutique size rather than padded: a landscaped roof deck with open Manhattan and Empire State Building views, a planted common courtyard at the rear, and private storage available to residents. The condominium permits washer/dryers in residence — many homes were delivered with them — and is pet-friendly. As a condominium, financing is flexible and there is no admissions board; purchases clear through the standard right-of-first-refusal.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $16,730/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $30
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
- Notable fees
- Condo (47 units, The Oculus). Buyer app $700; credit $200/applicant; move-in $1,500 + $1,000 deposit; waiver of ROFR $750; closing $225; lease renewal $300
Recent sales
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 26, 2026 | 1E | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,613 sf | $2,900,000 | $1,798/sf | +7.6% |
| May 11, 2026 | 7B | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,055 sf | $1,820,000 | $1,725/sf | -4.2% |
| Apr 27, 2026 | 4E | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,265 sf | $2,275,000 | $1,798/sf | -0.9% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 8B | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,229 sf | $2,275,000 | $1,851/sf | -0.7% |
| Oct 15, 2025 | 1C | 1 BR · 2 BA · 1,061 sf | $1,435,000 | $1,352/sf | off-mkt |
| Sep 16, 2025 | 7E | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,265 sf | $2,300,000 | $1,818/sf | -8.0% |
| May 19, 2025 | 9D | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,611 sf | $2,850,000 | $1,769/sf | -4.8% |
| Mar 14, 2024 | 3C | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,549 sf | $2,600,000 | $1,679/sf | -10.2% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,858/sf across 4 sales. Median listing discount 2.3% 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.
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 1-00816-7503) 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
This is a condominium, so the purchase path is the lighter one: a right-of-first-refusal in place of a co-op board package and interview, flexible financing, and the customary openness to pied-à-terre, trust, LLC, and investment ownership that condominiums of this caliber allow. Subletting is correspondingly freer than at a Flatiron co-op. The points that actually shape value here are unit-specific — which exposure, how much private outdoor space, what floor — and building-level: the roof deck and courtyard, the full-time staffing, the storage availability. We help buyers read the offering plan and financials, weigh common charges and taxes against comparable boutique condominiums, and benchmark a given line against recent trades.
What to know if you’re selling
The selling story is the building's design and its location. A terracotta-clad, full-service condominium on a quiet West 15th Street block — one with private outdoor space on a large share of its homes and Union Square transit at the door — differentiates a listing from the glassier post-war and new-construction inventory nearby. Closing mechanics are condominium-standard: a right-of-first-refusal rather than a board process, with the faster, more predictable timeline that the financing- and flexibility-minded Flatiron buyer values. Because turnover is light, a well-positioned home benefits from scarcity within the building; pricing should be set against the boutique-condominium comparable set rather than the broader, larger-tower market.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Oculus, also evaluate nearby Flatiron and Chelsea condominium inventory:
- 141 Fifth Avenue — landmark Flatiron condominium a few blocks north
- 212 Fifth Avenue — pre-war tower condominium overlooking Madison Square Park
- 15 Union Square West — cast-iron-and-glass condominium on Union Square
- 125 West 21st Street — boutique Chelsea condominium nearby
- 55 West 17th Street — Flatiron condominium a few blocks away
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Greenwich Village — read The Roebling Team Guide to Greenwich Village.
Considering a move at The Oculus?
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 The Oculus 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.