- Year built
- 1905
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- No
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
- $1,405
- Listing discount
- 4.0%
- Recorded sales
- 65
- On record
- 2003–2026
79 Seventh Avenue is a genuine piece of New York publishing history. The seven-story red-brick loft was completed in 1905 as the home of Street & Smith, the prolific publisher of dime novels and pulp magazines that had occupied this corner of Chelsea since the late nineteenth century. It is a substantial, broad-shouldered building — a full blockfront presence on Seventh Avenue at 15th Street — built for the heavy floor loads and big windows of an early-1900s manufacturing and publishing operation.
Its second life is as a residential cooperative, converted around 1980 in the first wave of downtown loft conversions. That early conversion gave the building something later projects often lack: the true wide-open floor plates and column rhythm of an industrial loft, rather than apartments engineered to evoke one. The result is a co-op of loft-scaled homes in one of the most connected locations in Chelsea — at the seam of Chelsea, the West Village, and the Flatiron, with the West 14th Street and Union Square transit hubs a short walk away.
For buyers, 79 Seventh offers authentic loft volume and provenance in a low-key, full-elevator cooperative — the kind of building where the architecture, not a marketing package, is the draw.
Architecture and unit composition
The 1905 structure is a classic Chelsea loft: a red-brick façade organized by large industrial window openings, with the deep, regular floor plates that publishing and light manufacturing required. The roughly 1980 conversion preserved that character, carving 64 residential homes from the building's broad floors while leaving ground-floor retail in place along the avenue.
Inside, the homes carry loft DNA — open or loft-style layouts, generous proportions, big windows, and the ceiling height of a turn-of-the-century industrial building. Floor plates this wide allow for flexible, light-filled living space, and the larger homes read as substantial lofts. As with any early conversion, individual residences vary in layout, light, and the degree to which owners have updated them over the decades — part of the character of an authentic loft co-op.
Building operations
79 Seventh Avenue runs as a cooperative with full-time elevator service, a superintendent, and central laundry, with retail tenancy at the base helping support the building's economics. A purchase proceeds through the standard cooperative application and board review, with financing available within the building's guidelines. The building's appeal is rooted in its loft authenticity and its location rather than a deep amenity package — this is a substance-over-flash co-op, well suited to buyers who prize space, light, and provenance.
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
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
Recent transfers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2026 | 4C | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,515 sf | $1,725,000 | $1,139/sf | off-mkt |
| Jan 28, 2026 | 6B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,170 sf | $1,565,000 | $1,338/sf | -3.7% |
| Dec 2, 2025 | 3C | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,515 sf | $1,600,000 | $1,056/sf | -11.1% |
| May 29, 2025 | 4E | 1 BR · 1 BA · 1,200 sf | $1,530,000 | $1,275/sf | -5.8% |
| May 8, 2025 | PH7F | 1 BR · 2 BA · 1,700 sf | $2,400,000 | $1,412/sf | -4.0% |
| Mar 26, 2025 | 6C | 2 BR · 2 BA | $2,220,000 | -5.5% | |
| Sep 25, 2024 | PHA | 3 BR · 2 BA | $3,125,000 | -2.3% | |
| Aug 23, 2023 | 2J | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,800 sf | $2,075,000 | $1,153/sf | -3.5% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,405/sf across 2 sales. Median listing discount 4.0% 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.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2013 | 5E | $1,395,000 |
| Nov 28, 2009 | 6F | $908,000 |
| Apr 17, 2007 | 5E | $940,000 |
| Sep 1, 2005 | 4I | $1,400,000 |
| Aug 9, 2004 | 61 | $1,081,000 |
| Jun 10, 2004 | 1 | $2,271,200 |
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 1-00791-0001) 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 on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
You're buying authentic loft scale and real provenance. Wide 1905 floor plates, big industrial windows, and the history of the Street & Smith publishing house are character a new building cannot manufacture.
This is a cooperative, so plan for co-op diligence. Expect a board application and review, financing within the building's parameters, and a careful look at the cooperative's financials, reserves, and the condition of systems updated at conversion — appropriate due diligence for a building of this age.
Home-to-home variation is real. In an early loft conversion, layout, light, and finish quality differ meaningfully between residences. Evaluate the specific home — its floor plate, exposures, and updates — rather than a building-wide generalization.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the lofts and the story. Genuine 1905 loft volume, big windows, and the Street & Smith provenance are the building's differentiators — they distinguish a home here from a conventional Chelsea apartment.
Benchmark to converted-loft co-ops, not new condominiums. The right comparison set is Chelsea's authentic loft cooperatives, where buyers pay for space, light, and character rather than amenity menus.
Sell the location. The Chelsea–West Village–Flatiron seam and the nearby 14th Street and Union Square transit are concrete, everyday advantages; a specific, livable picture outperforms generic loft language.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 79 Seventh Avenue, also evaluate Chelsea's loft and full-service cooperatives:
- 252 Seventh Avenue — Chelsea loft building nearby
- 100 West 15th Street — boutique Chelsea building
- 16 West 16th Street — full-service Chelsea co-op
- 15 West 20th Street — converted Chelsea loft
- 148 West 23rd Street — Chelsea loft conversion
- 250 West 15th Street — Chelsea cooperative
The Roebling Team at The Street & Smith Building
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Chelsea's loft and cooperative market — authentic conversions, the value of floor plate and light, and the diligence a turn-of-the-century building deserves. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating a genuine loft co-op deserve building-specific intelligence: the architecture, the provenance, the ownership structure, and where pricing sits within the neighborhood's loft tier.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at 79 Seventh, 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.