- Year built
- 1955
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 100
- Landmark
- Designated
681 Madison Avenue sits at the foot of one of Manhattan's most prestigious retail and gallery corridors. The Madison Avenue of the low 60s is the heart of the luxury-shopping and art-dealing district — flagship boutiques, established galleries, and the cross streets that connect to Central Park three blocks west and to Midtown a few blocks south. A residence here trades the quiet of a pure side street for an address at the center of the East Side's most cosmopolitan corridor, with the building's own ground floor occupied by the flagship retail and gallery tenants that define the avenue.
Completed in 1955, the building belongs to the post-war wave that filled out the East Side avenues in the decade after the war — efficient, full-service apartment houses with attended lobbies, livable floor plans, and low-maintenance presentation. Though it is a mid-century building, it falls within the Upper East Side Historic District, which governs exterior work and anchors the building in one of the city's most protected streetscapes.
At 16 stories and 100 apartments, 681 Madison is a mid-size post-war cooperative — large enough to support full staffing and a liquid resale market, with a unit mix spanning the post-war range. For a buyer who wants a full-service building at the dead center of the Madison Avenue district, the location is the whole argument: the cross-town bus on 60th, the N/R/W and 4/5/6 trains a short walk south at 59th–60th, the F/Q at Lexington and 63rd, and Central Park, Midtown, and the East Side's full amenity all within an easy walk.
Architecture and unit composition
The building's 100 apartments span the configurations typical of a 1955 East Side cooperative — from studios and one-bedrooms through two- and three-bedroom layouts, with some larger combined configurations. Post-war signatures recur: efficient, livable floor plans; functional kitchens and baths; and, on the upper floors, open exposures and good light over the surrounding low-rise corridor.
Interior condition varies widely across 100 units by individual renovation history; buyers should evaluate each apartment's layout, light, and condition on its own merits. The Madison Avenue frontage means lower-floor front apartments sit above the corridor's retail-and-gallery activity, while upper-floor and rear apartments offer more quiet and longer exposures. Historic-district status governs exterior alterations.
Building operations
681 Madison operates as a full-service post-war cooperative with full-time door staff, elevator service, central laundry, and a live-in superintendent. The 100-unit scale supports full staffing efficiently while keeping the building at a manageable residential density, and the ground-floor commercial rent — from premium Madison Avenue retail and gallery tenancy — is a meaningful contributor to the cooperative's operating economics, a structural advantage of a retail-base building on a corridor this valuable.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $12,673/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $11
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 681 Madison Avenue:
- The 100-unit scale supports a reasonably active resale market — a steady cadence of closings across the cooperative.
- Pricing spans the configuration range, from accessible studios and one-bedrooms at the entry point to larger family layouts at the premium end.
- Floor altitude, exposure, light, and renovation condition are the primary price drivers within the building. The building-specific transaction record is compiled on our sales page.
What to know if you’re buying
The Madison Avenue district is the draw. Flagship retail, galleries, Central Park, and Midtown are all within an easy walk, with multiple subway lines a few blocks south.
The retail base supports the building's economics. Premium ground-floor commercial rent helps underpin the cooperative's operating budget.
Front-facing lower floors sit above corridor activity. For quiet, look to upper floors or rear-facing apartments.
Inspect condition apartment by apartment. Renovation history varies widely across 100 units, and historic-district status governs exterior work.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the address. The Madison Avenue retail-and-gallery corridor and the full-service, doorman-staffed building are the strongest selling points.
Price at the apartment level. With 100 mixed units, floor, exposure, 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 681 Madison Avenue, also evaluate:
- 955 Madison Avenue — full-service Madison Avenue cooperative
- 976 Lexington Avenue — post-war East Side building nearby
- 118 East 60th Street — post-war Lenox Hill cooperative
- 773 Lexington Avenue — full-service Lenox Hill post-war co-op
- 1250 Third Avenue — East Side post-war building
- 1091 Lexington Avenue — post-war East Side cooperative
The Roebling Team at 681 Madison Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper East Side, Central Park West, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because East Side buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 681 Madison Avenue, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
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