The Terra Cotta (780 West End Avenue)
780 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10025
- Year built
- 1912
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 61
- Floors
- 13
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Cats and dogs permitted
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,039
- Listing discount
- 1.8%
- Recorded sales
- 58
- On record
- 2003–2026
The Terra Cotta is one of Manhattan's few significant Art Nouveau apartment buildings — a 1912 design by the brothers George and Edward Blum at the southeast corner of West End Avenue and West 98th Street. Where most prewar West End Avenue buildings speak in classical or Renaissance Revival terms, the Blums clad this one in white Roman brick over a granite base and covered it in elaborate foliate and geometric terracotta ornament, crowned by a round-arched terracotta entrance. It is among the Blums' earliest major commissions and one of the most distinctive façades on the avenue — the source of its marketing name.
For buyers, the defining feature is the pairing of that rare prewar architecture with condominium tenure. West End Avenue is heavily cooperative, so The Terra Cotta — a 1912 building converted to condominium in 1988 — is a comparatively unusual for-sale option on the avenue: no board interview, financing flexibility, and openness to pied-à-terre, investment, and foreign purchase, in a landmarked building a block from Riverside Park and a block from Broadway.
The apartment stock runs from one- through three-bedroom homes, several combined into larger layouts, with roughly ten-foot ceilings and prewar detail — moldings, hardwood floors, decorative fireplaces, and French doors — throughout.
Architecture and unit composition
The residences run from one- through three-bedroom layouts, with some combined into larger four-bedroom homes. Prewar proportions carry throughout — approximately ten-foot ceilings, moldings, hardwood floors, decorative fireplaces, and French doors — with renovation condition varying apartment-to-apartment.
The Blums' Art Nouveau terracotta exterior is preserved under the historic-district designation. The building sits one block east of Riverside Park and one block west of Broadway, at a quiet West End Avenue corner.
Building operations
The Terra Cotta operates as a prewar condominium with a doorman, a live-in superintendent, a fitness room, a landscaped garden, a central laundry, private storage, and a bicycle room. Amenities are prewar-appropriate rather than expansive; there is no on-site garage.
Common charges and property taxes are typical for a prewar condominium of this scale; buyers should model the full monthly carry at the apartment level.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The facade passed its last inspection with no required repairs — nothing to budget for here, and no facade assessment on the horizon for roughly five years.
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 →Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- 1% of sales price (seller)
- Sublet policy
- Lease allowed; application processing $650
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
- Notable fees
- Application processing $700 (sale); credit report $125/applicant; move-in/out fee $250 + deposit $500; transfer agent closing fee $850 ($1100 remote); financing fee $400
Recent sales
As a condominium, The Terra Cotta is priced per square foot. Recent resale activity has cleared in the range typical for a prewar West End Avenue condominium of this vintage, with larger and combined units transacting well into the millions and smaller homes pricing to their size and floor. Pricing varies with floor, exposure, and renovation condition, and the building's rare architecture and condominium tenure support pricing at the upper end of its immediate peer set. Apartment-level comparable analysis is the correct basis for pricing any specific unit.
Recent closings at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 2026 | 4F | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,000 sf | $985,000 | $985/sf | +0.0% |
| Dec 11, 2025 | MEZZ1 | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,400 sf | $2,575,000 | $1,073/sf | -4.6% |
| Dec 9, 2025 | 1A | 2,062 sf | $2,575,000 | $1,249/sf | off-mkt |
| Jun 28, 2024 | 12D | 3 BR · 2 BA · 1,100 sf | $1,675,000 | $1,523/sf | -4.2% |
| Mar 14, 2024 | M1 | 4 BR · 2,400 sf | $2,749,000 | $1,145/sf | +0.0% |
| Mar 12, 2024 | 1A | 2,062 sf | $2,712,319 | $1,315/sf | off-mkt |
| Mar 12, 2024 | 1A | 2,062 sf | $2,712,318 | $1,315/sf | off-mkt |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 1D | 2 BR · 1,241 sf | $1,279,066 | $1,031/sf | -1.2% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,039/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 1.8% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
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 1-01869-7502) 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; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
Condominium tenure on West End Avenue is rare. On an avenue dominated by co-ops, The Terra Cotta offers no board interview, financing flexibility, and pied-à-terre and investment openness in a landmarked prewar building.
The architecture is the draw. The Blum brothers' Art Nouveau terracotta façade is among the most distinctive on West End Avenue and a genuine rarity in Manhattan.
The economics are accessible. A 10% minimum down is favorable relative to peer prewar co-ops; confirm the current terms for your specific line.
It is a landmarked building. Exterior alterations are regulated by the historic-district designation; renovation respects the prewar envelope.
Run the cliff thresholds. Larger units transact above the $2M and $3M mansion-tax cliffs — run any number through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with tenure and the terracotta. Condominium mechanics and the rare Blum brothers Art Nouveau façade are the core story.
Price at the apartment level. Building averages blend a range of sizes and exposures; recent comparables on the specific line should anchor positioning.
Closing timelines are condo-fast. 30–45 days from contract to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Terra Cotta, also evaluate:
- 650 West End Avenue — full-service prewar West End Avenue condominium nearby
- 825 West End Avenue — prewar West End Avenue condominium comp
- 845 West End Avenue — prewar West End Avenue condominium comp
- 230 Riverside Drive — Gothic Revival Riverside Drive condominium nearby
- 264 Riverside Drive (The Riverview) — prewar Riverside Drive cooperative nearby; tenure contrast
The Roebling Team at The Terra Cotta
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Upper West Side and its West End Avenue and Riverside Drive corridors as part of our broader Park-facing Manhattan practice. We publish this building profile because Terra Cotta buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, tenure advantage, operational reality, and apartment-level pricing — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at The Terra Cotta, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across West End Avenue — read The Roebling Team Guide to West End Avenue.
Get the full picture on this building.
The full comp set, a private valuation of your line, or current and off-market availability — sent to you directly.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A broker’s honest answer to three questions — what your apartment would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — for your apartment at The Terra Cotta, in this market. Put together by a person, not an algorithm.