800 Riverside Drive (The Grinnell)
800 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032
BBL 1021340195 · BIN 1063275
- Year built
- 1910
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 82
- Floors
- 8
- Landmark
- Designated
- Financing
- No published ceiling. Confirm the current maximum financing percentage with the managing agent before offering
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 3BR median
- $1.5M
- Recent range
- $600K – $1.6M
- Listing discount
- 7.9%
- Recorded transfers
- 53
The Grinnell is the building Audubon Park is organized around. Schwartz & Gross designed it in 1910-1911 for the Centre Realty Corporation on a triangular block that gives it three full street frontages and a courtyard large enough to function as a private garden — a plan type that was already becoming uneconomic in Manhattan when it was built and that essentially stopped being built afterward. Every apartment gets an outlook, either to the street or into the court, and the eight-story height means the building reads as a single continuous mass rather than a tower.
Its second history is a city history. The building passed through a series of owners in the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1978 the City of New York took title through in rem tax foreclosure. Four years later the City, acting through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development's Division of Alternative Management Programs, sponsored a plan to convert the building to cooperative ownership. The plan was presented on May 21, 1982; the City conveyed the property to Grinnell Housing Development Fund Corporation on November 4, 1982. The total initial offering was $250,000 — a quarter of a million dollars for a full Manhattan block of apartments, which is the arithmetic of the city's tenant-ownership programs of that era rather than a market transaction.
What that history produced is a building that is genuinely resident-owned and genuinely unusual in its legal form. The corporation is a Housing Development Fund Corporation, not a conventional cooperative housing corporation, and the property carries a full exemption in the city's exemption file as a result. Shareholders have run the building through four decades of capital work — a full façade restoration in the early 2000s, boiler and boiler-room reconstruction across 2011 through 2017, a dual-fuel burner conversion, a rooftop solar installation in 2018, and a 2022 refinancing of the underlying debt.
The third thing to understand is that apartments here trade on the open market, apartment by apartment, to unrelated buyers. The recorded history on this tax lot shows dozens of separate share transfers to unrelated purchasers, running continuously from the years after conversion through 2026, and covering individual apartment lines rather than blocks of units. This is a real for-sale cooperative and not a bulk-held rental. What it is not is a conventional co-op: the HDFC structure attaches conditions, and any buyer needs to understand them before making an offer.
Architecture and unit composition
The triangular site is the design. Schwartz & Gross wrapped an eight-story Renaissance Revival building around a central court, giving the plan three street elevations — Riverside Drive to the west, West 157th Street to the south, Edward M. Morgan Place to the east — and a protected interior. Apartments are divided between an east and a west wing, a distinction the building's own emergency procedures still use.
Unit composition runs large by the standards of the neighborhood's later buildings: prewar room counts, entry foyers, defined dining rooms, and original detail where it survives. The building's house rules record three duplex apartments and one professional office unit among the shareholder-owned lots. Ceiling heights, room proportions and the courtyard outlook are the building's product; condition varies widely apartment to apartment, as it does in any 1911 building where renovation has been shareholder-financed for four decades.
Building operations
The Grinnell is run by its shareholders through a nine-member elected board with standing committees covering management, finance, building systems, quality of life, sales and sublets, and the garden, supported by a professional managing agent and a resident superintendent. A staffed security booth controls the entrance.
The capital record is documented and substantial for a building of this age. Department of Buildings filings show a full façade program in 2002 covering brick replacement and repointing, limestone patching, lintel replacement, parapet reconstruction, window sill replacement and terra cotta restoration; boiler breeching replacement and entrance and ramp repairs in 2011; boiler-room and courtyard structural work in 2013 and again in 2017; a combination gas-and-oil burner conversion in 2013; laundry room work in 2016; and a rooftop solar photovoltaic installation in 2018. The cooperative refinanced its underlying debt in February 2022.
For carrying-cost analysis, the two numbers that matter most are the underlying mortgage service on the 2022 debt and the property-tax exemption. Both should be confirmed against the current audited financial statements during diligence.
The ownership structure — read this before you offer
Three documented facts define the framework here, and none of them appears in a listing.
The corporation is an HDFC. The owner of record on the assessment roll is Grinnell Housing Development Fund Corporation, and the parcel carries a full property-tax exemption in the Department of Finance exemption file, current through the most recent published roll. That exemption is the reason maintenance at The Grinnell compares favorably to conventionally taxed cooperatives of similar scale, and it is not a permanent, unconditional feature of the property — it is tied to the corporation's status and its agreements with the City.
The purchase package contains a Statement of Maximum Income. The cooperative purchase application on file requires the buyer to complete one, alongside an occupancy statement and a statement of compliance regarding use of the premises. That is the signature of an HDFC purchaser-eligibility framework. The current income parameters are set by the corporation and the City, not published, and change over time. Ask for them in writing at the outset — before a buyer falls in love with an apartment.
The original plan carried resale restrictions. The 1982 offering plan on file includes Board of Estimate resale restrictions and Section 576 of Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law among its exhibits. Whether and how those restrictions apply to a given transfer today is a question for the corporation's counsel and the buyer's attorney, and it is the single most important item of legal diligence in any Grinnell transaction.
None of this makes the building difficult to buy in. It makes it a building where the offer should follow the eligibility conversation rather than precede it.
Policy framework
Subletting is the tightest rule in the building. Board approval is required; a shareholder must have lived in the apartment for three years before applying; a sublet may run no more than five years in total, after which no further subletting is permitted; applications are due at least 45 days before the intended occupancy date; the Board may interview subtenants; and the shareholder stays responsible for maintenance during the sublet. Anyone underwriting this apartment as a rental asset should stop here.
Roommates and room rentals require Board approval even when the shareholder is in residence and no rent changes hands.
Pets are permitted subject to leash-and-carrier rules in the common areas and a nuisance standard; they are not allowed on the roof deck.
Alterations run through a written renovation policy with an alteration agreement on file, and shareholders assume prior alteration agreements at closing.
A flip tax exists. The seller completes a flip tax worksheet as part of the purchase package. Get the rate and the basis — per share, percentage of price, or profit-based — from the managing agent before you set an asking price.
Financing, trusts, LLCs and guarantors are not addressed in the published material. In an HDFC with an income-qualification requirement, assume the Board's posture on non-individual ownership is restrictive and confirm it in writing.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | 4A | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,549,500 | -16.2% | |
| Oct 14, 2024 | 6E | 4 BR · 3 BA | $1,600,000 | -10.9% | |
| Jul 17, 2024 | 5D | 2 BR · 1 BA | $600,000 | -40.0% | |
| Jul 15, 2024 | 8H | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,515,000 | -5.0% | |
| Apr 24, 2023 | 8H | 3 BR · 1.5 BA | $1,522,250 | -4.6% | |
| Mar 13, 2023 | 2A | 3 BR · 1.5 BA · 1,800 sf | $1,300,000 | $722/sf | -3.7% |
| Oct 15, 2019 | 4D | 2 BR · 1 BA | $959,000 | +0.0% | |
| Mar 9, 2018 | 4H | 3 BR · 1.5 BA | $1,425,000 | -1.7% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2023): a median $722/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 4.4% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2023 | 7H | $1,530,000 |
| Jul 13, 2020 | 5E | $2,100,000 |
| Apr 19, 2011 | 2C | $710,000 |
| Dec 10, 2009 | 5G | $550,000 |
| Dec 10, 2009 | 4D | $420,000 |
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 1-02134-0195) 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
Qualify on the HDFC terms first. Ask the managing agent, in writing, for the current income parameters referenced by the Statement of Maximum Income, for the corporation's position on the resale restrictions in the original plan, and for any transfer obligation owed to the City. Have your attorney read the 1982 plan and its amendments. This is the diligence that decides whether you can buy here at all.
Build a full cooperative board package. The purchase application on file requires a financial statement, an affidavit as to net worth and income, tax returns, bank, employer, professional and personal references, a credit authorization, a source-of-funds statement, and acknowledgment of the proprietary lease and house rules. Assume a board interview. Run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator before you offer, and ask for the financing ceiling — it is not published.
Underwrite the sublet rules as permanent. Three years of residency before any sublet, a five-year lifetime cap, and no further subletting afterward. This building suits a primary residence and does not suit an investor.
Read the financials for the exemption and the 2022 debt. The full property-tax exemption is the largest single input into your monthly number, and the February 2022 refinancing sets debt service for the years ahead. Both belong in your carrying-cost model rather than in an assumption.
Landmarks governs the exterior. Audubon Park Historic District designation means façade, window and courtyard work require Commission review. That is the reason the block still looks the way it does, and it is a real cost item on future capital projects.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the structure, honestly. The HDFC framework narrows the buyer pool and lengthens the qualification conversation. Presenting the income and eligibility requirements up front removes the deals that were never going to close and protects the ones that will.
Get your flip tax number before pricing. The worksheet is part of the package. Sellers who learn the number at closing rather than at listing price badly. Run the Seller Closing Cost Calculator with the real figure.
Sell the plan, the court and the light. A triangular full-block plan with three exposures and a private garden court is not reproducible in this market, and it is the building's clearest argument against newer inventory on Broadway.
Document the capital record. The façade program, the boiler and courtyard reconstruction, the solar installation and the 2022 refinancing are all verifiable and all favorable. Buyers' attorneys will ask; having the answers assembled shortens diligence.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Grinnell, also evaluate:
- 725 Riverside Drive (The Imperator) — the large prewar Riverside Drive cooperative to the south; the closest comparison in scale and vintage
- 555 Edgecombe Avenue — the Sugar Hill prewar landmark; comparable prewar rooms with a different corridor and buyer pool
- 409 Edgecombe Avenue — Sugar Hill's other landmark cooperative; prewar scale and city-conversion history
- Castle Village — the Hudson-front cooperative campus further north; grounds and views in place of a courtyard plan
- 116 Pinehurst Avenue (Hudson View Gardens) — Tudor-revival garden cooperative in Hudson Heights; the other Washington Heights building bought for its plan rather than its address
- 330 Haven Avenue (Lafayette Gardens) — Haven Avenue cooperative with river outlooks
- 100 Bennett Avenue — prewar Washington Heights cooperative; the value-tier alternative
- 4260 Broadway (The Belford) — the converted prewar alternative on the avenue
- The Riviera (790 Riverside Drive) and the Vauxhall (780 Riverside Drive) — the adjoining Audubon Park apartment houses by Rouse & Goldstone and George & Edward Blum; same district, same street wall
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent.
Considering a move at The Grinnell?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Grinnell would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.