- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 114
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Pets permitted; pied-à-terre, guarantors, and co-purchasing allowed with board approval
- Financing
- Up to 75% (25% minimum down); electricity included in maintenance; smoke-free building
Chester Court at 600 Amsterdam Avenue — also addressed as 201 West 89th Street — carries one of the most valuable credentials on the Upper West Side: an Emery Roth design. Roth is the architect most identified with the West Side's pre-war skyline, the hand behind the Beresford, the San Remo, and the Eldorado on Central Park West. He conceived Chester Court as one of a paired composition with neighboring Edna Court, a 1925 ensemble on Amsterdam that brings Roth's restrained classicism to a neighborhood scale — pre-war fundamentals from a master of the form, without the trophy pricing of his Central Park West landmarks.
What sets Chester Court apart from most pre-war co-ops of its vintage is the amenity package. The building rivals far newer developments: a landscaped roof deck, a fully equipped fitness center with a basketball court, a children's playroom, a party room, a bike room, resident storage, and central laundry, all under a 24-hour doorman with a live-in superintendent and full-time handyman. Residents enter through an Oscar Bach–designed Beaux-Arts lobby, and many apartments look onto the private landscaped garden of the neighboring Astor Court — a quiet, green outlook rare on a corner this central.
The corner siting at Amsterdam and 89th places Chester Court in the heart of the residential Upper West Side, between the Broadway commercial spine a block west and Central Park a few blocks east. The 1 train is at 86th Street and the 2/3 express at 96th, with Riverside Park, Central Park, and the corridor's dining and shopping all within easy reach. At 14 stories and 114 apartments, it is a mid-size co-op large enough to support its deep staffing and amenity program while maintaining a liquid resale market.
Architecture and unit composition
The 114 apartments span the configurations typical of a 1925 Roth West Side building — one- and two-bedroom layouts through larger three- and four-bedroom family apartments, with the most generous on the upper and corner floors. Roth's pre-war signatures recur: high ceilings reaching up to roughly 9 feet 7 inches in some lines, well-proportioned rooms, hardwood floors, decorative moldings, beamed ceilings, and windowed kitchens and baths in many apartments. The building permits in-unit washer/dryers with board approval, and many homes carry custom built-ins and closets.
The corner at Amsterdam and 89th gives front-facing apartments dual exposures and cross-street light, while many interior apartments enjoy the sought-after garden views over Astor Court's landscaped courtyard. The masonry facade, decorative mullions, and deep light court are consistent with Roth's 1920s idiom. Interior condition varies by individual renovation history; original pre-war detail survives in varying states of preservation.
Building operations
Chester Court operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with 24-hour doorman coverage, a live-in superintendent, and a full-time handyman. The building maintains strong financials, includes electricity in maintenance, and has not historically levied assessments to build out its amenities — a sign of disciplined operation across a 114-unit cooperative. The co-op is smoke-free.
On policy, the building is unusually flexible for a pre-war co-op: pets are permitted, and pied-à-terre purchases, guarantors, and co-purchasing arrangements are allowed with board approval. Financing is available up to 75% of the purchase price, with a 25% minimum down payment.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $64,290/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $125,311/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $47 – $91
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
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 →Recent sales
Sales context at Chester Court:
- The 114-unit scale supports a reasonably active resale market — a steady cadence of closings across the cooperative.
- Pricing spans the configuration range, from accessible one-bedrooms at the entry point to larger family apartments at the premium end, with garden-view and high-ceilinged lines commanding interest.
- Floor altitude, exposure, layout, ceiling height, and renovation condition drive price within the building. The building-specific transaction record is compiled on our sales page.
What to know if you’re buying
The Roth pedigree plus the amenities are the case. A landmark-architect design that also delivers a roof deck, gym, basketball court, and playroom is a genuinely rare combination on the West Side.
The policies are flexible. Pets, pied-à-terre purchases, guarantors, and co-purchasing are all permitted with board approval, and financing runs up to 75% — uncommon latitude in a pre-war co-op.
Garden views and high ceilings are the premium lines. Apartments overlooking Astor Court and those with the building's tallest ceilings carry the strongest demand.
In-unit laundry is possible. The building allows washer/dryers with board approval — verify the specific apartment's setup.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the architect and the amenities. The Emery Roth authorship, the roof deck and fitness center, and the flexible board policy are the building's three strongest selling points — and they distinguish it sharply from the corridor's more anonymous pre-war stock.
Highlight the carrying-cost story. Electricity included in maintenance and a no-assessment amenity history are real selling points for cost-conscious buyers.
Price at the apartment level. With 114 mixed units, floor, exposure, ceiling height, garden view, and renovation quality drive value more than any building average.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. Plan for roughly 6–10 weeks from contract to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering Chester Court, also evaluate:
- 530 Amsterdam Avenue — pre-war Amsterdam Avenue cooperative nearby
- 15 West 81st Street — pre-war West Side cooperative nearby
- 2380 Broadway — Broadway-corridor building nearby
The Roebling Team at Chester Court
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, Central Park West, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Upper West Side buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, amenities, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at Chester Court, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.