685 West End Avenue

The building reads as a confident piece of late-1920s West End Avenue masonry: a fifteen-story brick-and-stone façade, a deep lobby, and the proportioned windows and high ceilings of the pre-war era. Apartments were originally laid out from three to six rooms and have evolved into a mix of one-, two-, and larger family-sized homes, many retaining the entry foyers, separate dining rooms, and detailed ceilings that define the period. Upper-floor lines on the western flank capture light and partial Hudson outlook to the west.

At 96 apartments across fifteen floors, the building is intimate enough to feel managed and personal, yet large enough to support a real staff and a full amenity package — a balance pre-war buyers consistently prize.

685 West End Avenue runs as a full-service cooperative with a full-time doorman and a live-in superintendent. The renovated lobby, central laundry, and landscaped rooftop deck round out the resident experience. Pets are permitted under the building's house rules. In-unit washers and dryers are allowed. Subletting is permitted with board approval; the cooperative charges a sublet surcharge equal to 30% of monthly maintenance for the duration of a sublease, with a partial rebate when the shareholder returns. Pied-à-terre purchases are not permitted — this is an owner-occupied building, and parents-buying and corporate purchases are not allowed.

The /sales tab below draws live from the building's tax lot. As a 96-unit cooperative, 685 West End sees a measured, pre-war cadence of turnover — typically a handful of closings in an active year rather than the steady churn of a large post-war tower. Pricing tracks the upper West End Avenue pre-war market, where value is set by line, floor, light, and the quality of the renovation; classic six- and seven-room homes command a clear premium over the smaller lines, and high-floor river-view apartments sit at the top of the building.

This is a board-approval cooperative, and a complete, well-documented purchase application is essential. Financing is capped at 75% of the purchase price, so buyers should plan for at least 25% down plus the post-closing reserves the board expects to see. A 1% flip tax, paid by the seller, applies on resale — useful to factor into your offer strategy because it shapes how sellers price their net. Pets and in-unit laundry are both allowed, which widens the buyer pool; the building is owner-occupied, so a pied-à-terre or investment purchase is not the right fit here. We help buyers assess the line and exposure, read the financials, and prepare a board package that clears cleanly.

The selling case is the full-service, pre-war, park-adjacent package: a doorman building with a restored lobby and a landscaped roof deck, on a quiet upper-West-End block two blocks from Riverside Park. Buyers pay for that combination. Price to the building's own comparable set — recent closings in similar lines and floors here and at the neighboring pre-war co-ops — and lead with what's scarce: light, ceiling height, original detail, and the quality of any renovation. The 1% seller flip tax should be built into your net-proceeds expectations from the start; our Seller Closing Cost Calculator below makes that straightforward.

If you're evaluating 685 West End Avenue, also look at these nearby pre-war Upper West Side cooperatives:

• 680 West End Avenue — neighboring pre-war elevator building at 93rd Street
• 670 West End Avenue — 1927 West End pre-war peer
• 790 West End Avenue — full-service West End Avenue co-op to the north
• 565 West End Avenue — Art Deco West End Avenue cooperative
• 300 Riverside Drive — pre-war Riverside Drive co-op a few blocks west

The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, West End Avenue, and the pre-war cooperative market along Central Park West and Riverside Drive. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers on West End Avenue deserve building-specific intelligence — the operation, the rules, and where the pricing actually sits. If you're considering a purchase or sale at 685 West End, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.