809 Madison Avenue

F.B. and A. Ware designed the building in 1924–25 in the neo-Renaissance style, with limestone, brick and terra cotta facades, per the Landmarks Preservation Commission record. PLUTO lists 1925. The building is in the Upper East Side Historic District, so exterior work needs Commission approval. The Commission approved the facade restoration, new windows and a rooftop penthouse addition in 2025, using the site's unused air rights. Preservation testimony at the hearing supported the facade restoration and objected to the bulk of the two-story penthouse.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects leads the design, and published reporting names SLCE Architects as architect of record. Planned layouts include private elevator landings, separate entertaining and sleeping wings, eat-in kitchens with pantries, corner living rooms with multiple exposures and wood-burning fireplaces, and primary suites with two walk-in closets, a morning kitchen and a five-fixture bath.

The ground-floor retail is a separate condominium unit, sold in 2024 for $9 million, per published reporting. PLUTO already records the property as a condominium (residential lot 7502). Buyers will share the building with a commercial owner they do not control.

• Job type. The main DOB application (M01262427) is filed as an "ALT-CO — New Building with Existing Elements to Remain": a gut alteration that keeps the structure and facades and issues a new certificate of occupancy.
• Envelope. Existing 13 stories, 120 feet, 33 dwelling units; proposed 14 stories, 160 feet, 12 dwelling units, with about 54,000 to 56,000 square feet of construction floor area.
• Work under way. A gantry was permitted in August 2026 and contractor sheds in October 2026. Foundation work for the horizontal and vertical enlargement was approved October 5, 2026. Partial-demolition and temporary-bracing applications were in plan review in mid-October 2026.

Unit count conflict. The DOB filing proposes 12 residences. Published reporting describes 13 full-floor homes. A listing record still shows the building's existing 33 apartments, and PLUTO records 11 residential units. The offering plan's Schedule A will settle the final count.

Height conflict. DOB shows 14 proposed stories. Published reporting gives 12 stories at 159 feet and, elsewhere, 15 stories. The DOB filing is the most recent record.

No condominium offering plan has been filed with the New York State Attorney General as of October 2026. No asking prices have been published. Published reporting says homes are expected to sell above $20 million, and a commercial property database lists a $20 million to $30 million range. Listing records show a target sales launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 and delivery in the fourth quarter of 2027. Treat both dates as unconfirmed.

At 12 homes above $20 million each, the sellout would exceed $240 million. That figure is an inference from reported numbers, not a filed offering total.

No deposits before the plan is accepted. Before the Attorney General accepts an offering plan, a sponsor may only collect non-binding expressions of interest under an approved CPS-1 application. It may not take reservations or deposits. The plan sets the unit list, prices, budget and closing conditions.

Closing costs at this price. In sponsor sales the buyer customarily pays the New York State transfer tax (0.65% at $3 million or more) and the New York City transfer tax (1.425%), plus the mansion tax. On a $20 million purchase that comes to about $415,000 in transfer taxes before any gross-up, plus $750,000 in mansion tax at the 3.75% tier. Use the calculators below to run your own price.

Conversion risk is different from ground-up risk. Expect the plan to disclose which original elements stay, the scope of new building systems, and any limits on the sponsor's warranties for an existing structure. Ask how the windows, the fireplaces and the new mechanical systems are specified and warrantied.

The retail condominium. The ground-floor commercial unit is owned separately. Review how the declaration splits common charges, insurance and facade-maintenance costs between residential and commercial owners, and what controls apply to retail use.

Landmark obligations continue after closing. Owners in a historic district need Commission approval for exterior changes, including window replacement and terrace work. The penthouse terrace and any rooftop installations fall under that review.

Closing on a temporary certificate of occupancy. Because the job replaces the certificate of occupancy, early closings may take place on a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO). Ask what the sponsor holds back until the final certificate issues.

• The Marquand (11 East 68th Street) — 1913 apartment house converted to condominiums, diagonally across the Madison Avenue and East 68th Street intersection
• 760 Madison Avenue (The Giorgio Armani Residences) — ground-up Madison Avenue condominium at the northwest corner of East 65th Street
• 1122 Madison Avenue — new condominium tower on Madison Avenue in Carnegie Hill, three- to six-bedroom homes
• 20 East 76th Street (The Surrey Residences) — residential condominium above a hotel just west of Madison Avenue
• 12 East 88th Street — 1931 rental building converted to condominiums off Fifth Avenue
• 33 East 74th Street — 10-residence condominium conversion above Madison Avenue retail at East 74th Street, a similar retail-condominium split