- Year built
- 1914
- Type
- Condominium — a pre-war rental converted under a non-eviction-style plan, with a mixed owner/renter population that buyers should understand
- Units
- 74
- Floors
- 11
- Landmark
- No
- Amenities
- Elevator, central laundry, bike storage; courtyard light well
- Pets
- Pet-friendly per listing records
Every recorded sale at this building, 2017–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Recorded sales
- 16
- On record
- 2017–2026
The Imperator belongs to the 1910s apartment-house wave that built out Riverside Drive's Hamilton Heights blocks — an 11-story corner building whose rendering ran in The New York Times in 1914 among the season's "magnificent" new houses. Robert M. Silverman built it with 55 large apartments; a century later it trades as 74 condominium units, and that conversion is the structural fact that defines the building today. Condominiums are scarce in pre-war Upper Manhattan, where the comparable riverside buildings of this vintage — the Riviera, the Grinnell — are co-ops with boards, share loans, and interview processes. The Imperator offers the same Riverside Drive geography with condo transfer mechanics, at some of the most accessible condo pricing in Manhattan.
The conversion story deserves clear eyes, and the documents on file in The Roebling Research Library tell it plainly. The offering plan is dated September 14, 2006, first closings followed in 2007, and the sponsor — affiliated with principals of the Pinnacle Group, the large rental landlord whose tenant-practices litigation was settled in federal court in 2012 with press coverage — retained a substantial block of units long after conversion: 38 of 74 as of the March 2014 amendment on file, many tenant-occupied, with J-51 benefits and rent-regulated tenancies in the mix. None of this is disqualifying; it is simply the diligence agenda. Owner-occupancy ratios, sponsor concentration, and the budget all flow from it, and they have improved as sponsor units have sold through over the past decade — the current figures are the ones that matter.
For buyers, the thesis is entry-level Manhattan ownership with real pre-war bones: high ceilings, moldings, decorative fireplaces, and generous pre-war plans a block from Riverside Park, with the 1 train at Broadway and the express A/C/B/D at 145th Street. For investors, the condo framework and the neighborhood's rental depth around City College have made the building a steady hold. Hamilton Heights pricing remains a fraction of brownstone-Brooklyn equivalents, and the riverside blocks are the neighborhood's blue chip.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises 11 stories in beige brick on the corner of 150th Street, with the restrained classical detailing of its date — bandcourses marking the base, middle, and crown where the original cornice once ran, and a light-court entrance recessed off the Drive. The 74 units run from ground-floor studios and one-bedrooms through full-scale pre-war three- and four-bedrooms; the larger lines retain the original program of long entry galleries, windowed kitchens, and 15-to-18-foot living and dining rooms. West-facing upper-floor units take Riverside Park and Hudson light. Because the conversion subdivided some of the original 55 apartments, plan quality varies by line — the intact pre-war layouts are the building's best inventory, and the renovation spread between sponsor-basic and owner-renovated units is wide.
Building operations
This is a lean, value-tier operation rather than a full-service one: part-time door coverage in the afternoons and evenings, a live-in superintendent, central laundry, and bike storage. Common charges and taxes are correspondingly modest — frequently abated further at the unit level where J-51 history applies, which buyers should have verified rather than assumed, since abatement schedules expire. The 2014 amendment and certified financial statement on file in The Roebling Research Library provide the documentary baseline; your attorney should pair them with the current budget and financials from the managing agent.
Recent sales
Recent closings at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 3, 2026 | 11A | $1,295,000 |
| Sep 9, 2024 | 9C | $877,938.75 |
| May 31, 2024 | 10D | $857,756.25 |
| May 17, 2023 | 5C | $740,000 |
| Apr 12, 2023 | 4E | $5,879,824 |
| Sep 30, 2022 | GD | $575,000 |
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 1-02096-7501) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
The condo structure is the headline. No board interview, no co-op financial-disclosure gauntlet, and a framework open to investors, parents buying with children, and LLC or trust structures — in a neighborhood where the prestige pre-war alternatives are co-ops. This is the building's core advantage; use it deliberately.
Ask the sponsor-concentration question first. A large block of units was sponsor-held and tenant-occupied for years after the 2006–07 conversion. Lenders care about owner-occupancy and single-entity concentration; get the current numbers from the managing agent before you go to contract, and have your lender confirm the building is warrantable for your loan.
Verify the tax line, not the listing's version of it. J-51 history means unit tax bills can be abated, expiring, or fully phased out depending on the schedule. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator with the post-abatement figure.
Buy the layout. The subdivided units and the intact pre-war plans are different products at different values. Decorative fireplaces, gallery entries, and windowed kitchens mark the original fabric; price accordingly.
Price the services honestly. Part-time door coverage and central laundry are the trade for low carrying costs. Buyers coming from full-service buildings should weigh package logistics and staffing against the monthly savings.
What to know if you’re selling
Sell the scarcity, not just the unit. Pre-war condominium ownership on Riverside Drive is a thin category — most of the competition is either co-op stock with board friction or new construction without the bones. Name the structural facts in the marketing.
Renovation condition drives the spread. The gap between sponsor-condition and renovated units is wide and visible in the building's history. Price to your side of it; run the Renovation Cost Calculator against your ask if your unit needs work, because your buyer will.
Expect a financing-literate buyer pool. Entry-tier Manhattan buyers are rate- and underwriting-sensitive; clean building financials and current owner-occupancy data presented up front shorten contracts. We provide the documentary package from the Research Library to serious buyers' counsel.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 725 Riverside Drive, also evaluate:
- The Riviera (790 Riverside Drive) — the grand 1910 co-op at 156th Street; the corridor's prestige pre-war alternative, with a board
- The Grinnell (800 Riverside Drive) — the triangular 1911 co-op landmark of Audubon Park; same era, co-op mechanics
- 555 Edgecombe Avenue — the landmarked Paul Robeson residence atop Coogan's Bluff; Sugar Hill's historic pre-war anchor
- 409 Edgecombe Avenue — Sugar Hill's other landmarked address; the co-op comparison east of the Drive
- Graham Court — the Clinton & Russell courtyard landmark on Adam Clayton Powell; central Harlem's pre-war benchmark
- 1485 Fifth Avenue — the full-amenity modern Harlem condo alternative for buyers weighing pre-war character against new systems
- 100 West 119th Street — boutique modern condo stock in south Harlem; the other direction of the same value thesis
The Roebling Team at The Imperator
The Roebling Team at Compass works Harlem, Hamilton Heights, and the broader Upper Manhattan value market as part of our citywide pre-war practice. We publish this building profile because Imperator buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — conversion documentation, sponsor-history context, and corridor-level comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 725 Riverside Drive, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.