85 Adams Street (The Beacon Tower)

The 79 residential units distribute across floors 2 through 23, above a ground floor holding the lobby, fitness center, and the separately owned commercial/retail unit, with parking in the cellar and at grade. The original Schedule A shows a disciplined line structure — approximately 850-square-foot one-bedrooms on the B and C lines and approximately 1,170-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath corners on the A and D lines — with larger and terraced configurations appearing as the tower sets back above the 18th floor. Setback terraces at the 2nd, 7th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, and 23rd floors are limited common elements of the adjacent units, finished in concrete pavers.

Construction is a fireproofed steel frame with concrete-on-metal-deck floors and steel cross-bracing for wind and seismic loads — a structural system more common in commercial construction than in the poured-concrete residential idiom of the period. The envelope is a pre-engineered panel system faced in brick veneer and metal panel, with aluminum windows engineered for sound attenuation against the bridge. Interiors in the sponsor-finish generation carry the mid-2000s specification: open kitchens, stone baths, and the in-unit laundry closet in every line.

The Beacon Tower operates as a full-service condominium. The offering plan's first-year budget staffed the building with a full-time superintendent, a full-time porter, and five rotating concierges providing uninterrupted 24-hour desk coverage ; that historical budget does not establish current staffing, which requires the present payroll and service schedule. Two passenger elevators serve the tower. Residential electricity is directly metered to each unit; heating and cooling run on a heat-pump system with a rooftop cooling tower.

The building's original managing agent under the plan was independent of the sponsor, and management has been in professional hands since; current managing-agent details, the building's financials, and the capital-project calendar are maintained in The Roebling Research Library and reviewed with clients during diligence.

Purchaser review: The condominium board holds a right of first refusal on sales and leases rather than cooperative-style approval power. Closings run on condominium timelines — typically 30 to 45 days from contract.

Subletting: Permitted subject to the right of first refusal; there is no cooperative-style sublet cap in the governing documents disclosed in the plan. Confirm current minimum-lease terms with management.

Pied-à-terre, LLC, foreign, and trust purchases: Pied-à-terre permitted; LLC, foreign and trust purchases not documented — confirm in the declaration, bylaws and house rules.

In-unit washer/dryer: Delivered in every unit; the building has no common laundry room.

Flip tax / transfer fee: None disclosed in the offering plan; any subsequently adopted transfer or capital-contribution fees should be confirmed at offer stage.

Property taxes: The 421-a schedule described in the offering plan — full exemption followed by a stepped phase-out — has run its course. Underwrite the unit's current full-assessment tax bill and run the True Monthly Carrying Cost analysis against it.

Recent sales

Recent closings at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. 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.

Market read. Most recent trades (2026 to date) cleared a median $1,231/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00052-7501; each condominium apartment is its own tax lot). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. 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.

The bridge is the building's defining trade. The Manhattan Bridge approach delivers the western exposures' drama and the neighborhood's transit spine, and the building was engineered around it — the slender massing and acoustic window assemblies exist because of it. Visit the specific unit at multiple times of day and judge the sound attenuation yourself.

The tax abatement era is over. Early resale history in the building reflected 421-a-supported carrying costs; the current bill is at full assessment. Model the real tax number, not the historical one.

Line selection drives value. High-floor corner lines with bridge, harbor, or skyline exposure and terraced setback units behave differently from mid-tower interior lines in both marketing time and price. Anchor negotiations to same-line comparables.

Review the building's capital position. A 2006-vintage tower is in its third decade of façade, roof, and mechanical cycles. Review the current budget, reserve position, and any LL11 program during diligence.

Sell the service-to-scale ratio. Twenty-four-hour concierge coverage, garden court, fitness center, parking, and in-unit laundry attached to 79 units is a combination to describe accurately and compare with specific converted-loft alternatives.

Position against the right competitive set. The Beacon Tower is neither a Gair loft nor a 2020s new development; pricing against either without adjustment misleads. The correct anchors are the 2000s tower vintage — 100 Jay Street most directly — adjusted for line and floor.

Lead with the crown and the light. The building's identity — the illuminated crown, the slender profile, the floor-to-ceiling glass — photographs exceptionally well at dusk; the marketing should use it.

Explain the condominium process. There is a right of first refusal rather than board approval. Treat 30–45 days as a planning estimate, and confirm the actual schedule before presenting it to relocating or investor buyers.

If you're considering The Beacon Tower, also evaluate:

• J Condominium (100 Jay Street) — the other 2000s ground-up DUMBO tower; larger, with a similar full-service posture
• Front & York (85 Jay Street) — the neighborhood's full-block 2021 amenity flagship; higher price tier, resort-scale facilities
• 70 Washington Street — Two Trees' large Gair-building loft conversion; the loft alternative at comparable budgets
• 1 Main Street (The Clock Tower Building) — the trophy Gair conversion on the waterfront; DUMBO's loft pinnacle
• 30 Main Street (The Sweeney Building) — boutique Two Trees conversion; loft character at a smaller scale
• 98 Front Street — 2020s boutique new development; the contemporary-spec alternative
• 51 Jay Street — loft-style conversion on the neighborhood's east side; heavier material character
• 133 Water Street — boutique 2000s condominium inside the historic district; smaller building, private parking