520 West 110th Street

LPC describes a three-part façade: a stone base with keyed window surrounds, a brick shaft laid in Flemish bond and framed by geometric brick piers and bands, and a patterned attic. Inset bay windows appear on Cathedral Parkway and again on the rear elevation. The entrance sits in a shallow light court facing the street. It keeps its geometric-patterned surround, metal door hood, historic metal-and-glass door and a stained-glass window. At designation, the windows had been replaced, one light-court window had been filled in, and the brick had been repointed and patched.

The unit schedule is simple. ACRIS lists three apartments per floor, lines A, B and C, on floors one through twelve. DOF's roll gives the A line about 1,330 square feet, the B line about 1,220 and the C line about 1,360–1,380, with the ground floor laid out differently (1B is carried at about 500 square feet and 1C at about 1,630). Several owners hold adjoining apartments on the same floor, and DOB records interior renovations throughout, so some lines have probably been combined. Confirm the current layout of any apartment against its DOB filings.

The U plan puts the light court on Cathedral Parkway, so most apartments face the street, the court or the rear.

This is a mid-size, lightly staffed condominium: an elevator, a live-in superintendent, a part-time doorman in the evening per listing records, a laundry room, storage and a bicycle room.

Façade. DOB records façade renovation and a sidewalk shed in 2002–03 and a further round of façade and Local Law 11 repairs signed off in 2012. Filings under the city's façade inspection program (Local Law 11) were classified Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program in Cycle 6 (2006) and Cycle 8 (December 2018), and Safe in Cycle 7 (2012) and Cycle 9 (September 2023). Because the building is landmarked, the next round of masonry or window work also needs LPC approval.

J-51, start to finish. J-51 is a city tax benefit for building improvements. DOF's J-51 records show three benefits on the unit lots: one begun in 1989 that ran through the late 1990s, one begun in 1991 that ran through the 2002 tax year, and one begun in 2007. DOF still carries an abatement record from that last benefit on each unit lot, with a nominal term running to the 2027 tax year. But the credit is used up: the roll shows no abatement applied since the 2021 tax year, and only token amounts that year. Model unit taxes at full rates. Owners who live in their apartments may qualify for the standard co-op and condominium abatement, which is personal to the owner and not a building benefit.

Governing documents. The original declaration dates from the 1986 conversion. The board of managers recorded an amended declaration in March 2021 covering all 36 units. Ask for the amendment. It is the most recent statement of the building's rules on leasing, alterations and use.

Finances. No budget, audited statements or reserve figures for this condominium were in The Roebling Research Library or the public record. Ask the managing agent for the current budget, the most recent audited statements, the reserve balance and any assessments.

Pets: Cats and dogs permitted, per listing records.

Pied-à-terre: Permitted, per listing records. Condominiums generally allow it; confirm nothing in the 2021 amended declaration restricts it.

Leasing: Condominium owners can usually rent out their apartments subject to the declaration and by-laws. Get the current minimum lease term and any board right of first refusal from the managing agent.

Washer/dryers and alterations: Present in some apartments per listing records. Get the alteration agreement before planning any renovation. Landmark status adds LPC review for anything that changes windows or the exterior.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01881-7502) 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.

It is a real condominium. ACRIS shows individual deeds to separate buyers since 1986 and no co-op wrapper. That rules out the condop question that hangs over many prewar condo lots uptown.

There is no outside investor block. The sponsor sold apartments to individual buyers starting in November 1986. A limited partnership that took four apartments directly from the sponsor in 1990 still holds two, per the DOF roll. Everything else is held by individual owners and personal trusts. That is a small concentration, but confirm with the managing agent whether those two apartments are rented and current on common charges.

Model taxes without J-51. The last J-51 abatement is exhausted even though DOF still lists it.

Read the 2021 amended declaration. It is the current rulebook. Leasing terms, alterations and any right of first refusal should come from that document, not from listing summaries.

Landmark rules apply to the outside. Windows, masonry and anything visible from the street go through LPC as well as the board.

Lead with the building and the tenure. A 1911 Schwartz & Gross façade in a historic district, an intact original entrance, and condominium ownership with no board interview is an easy story to tell buyers who would otherwise be looking at co-ops.

Price against the same line. With three apartments per floor and a few trades a year, recent sales in the same line, adjusted for floor and condition, are the right comparison. The building median is not.

Have the documents ready. Buyers' attorneys will ask for the 2021 amended declaration, the current budget and the façade status. Having them ready shortens the contract period.

If you're considering 520 West 110th Street, also evaluate:

• 535 West 110th Street — Robert T. Lyons cooperative directly across Cathedral Parkway, in the same historic district
• 610 West 110th Street — 1922 Schwartz & Gross apartment house west of Broadway, converted to condominium in 2008
• 545 West 110th Street — 2006 new-construction condominium on the same stretch of Cathedral Parkway
• 603 West 111th Street — 1908–09 William L. Rouse cooperative one block north
• 545 West 111th Street — The Rockfall, a 1909–10 building held as a co-op inside a condominium, the structure this building does not have
• 600 West 111th Street — 1925–26 Jacob M. Felson building at Broadway, another co-op inside a condominium
• 243 West 98th Street — prewar condominium converted a year later by the same sponsor
• 240 West 98th Street (The Sabrina) — 1923 Schwartz & Gross apartment house on Broadway, converted to condominium in 2008