- Year built
- 1915
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- Designated
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 3BR median
- $1.4M
- Recent range
- $1.1M – $5.5M
- Listing discount
- 3.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 46
885 West End Avenue is a 1915 Italian Renaissance palazzo at the corner of West 103rd Street — one of the handsome prewar corner houses that give upper West End Avenue its scale and dignity. It was designed by Gaetan Ajello, the architect whose prolific work so defined the corridor that the press of the day credited him with shaping the West Side, and developed by Joseph Paterno, one of the great builder-developers of the prewar Upper West Side. The collaboration produced exactly what the avenue is loved for: a substantial masonry building, built for families, that has aged into a stable, full-service cooperative.
The location is classic upper West End: a quiet residential corner a short walk from Riverside Park and its promenade to the west and Broadway's groceries, cafés, and the 103rd Street subway to the east, with Central Park within reach across the neighborhood. Converted to a cooperative in 1988, the building has been owner-occupied for decades, trading slowly and offering prewar space at the relative value the corridor's upper reaches provide.
Architecture and unit composition
Ajello designed the building as an Italian Renaissance palazzo — a light beige-brick elevation animated by Venetian-style decorative balconies and crowned with the cornice and proportioned ornament of the style, entered through a canopied portal with bronze doors framed by paired pilasters. It is among the more refined facades on the upper avenue, and its place in the Riverside-West End Historic District keeps its streetscape intact.
Inside, the residences are the prewar standard the avenue was built for: high ceilings, hardwood floors, entry galleries, separate dining, and the generous room counts of West End's family layouts, with the corner apartments enjoying light on multiple exposures. With 55 homes across thirteen stories, the floor plates are roomy and the building stays intimate, supported by an attentive full-service staff.
Building operations
885 West End is a full-service cooperative with an attended lobby, a live-in superintendent, central laundry, private storage, and a bike room. As an established West End house, it operates on board approval with a standard package-and-interview process and a conservative financing posture in keeping with the corridor — terms that keep the building well-capitalized and the resident base owner-committed. A transfer fee may apply at closing under house policy; we confirm the building's current financing cap, pet policy, and any sublet terms for clients in contract so the underwriting is exact.
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
An active hazard: the building must keep a sidewalk shed up and make repairs now — expect construction, disruption, and a likely special assessment. We’d get you the repair scope and the building’s funding plan up front, so you go in knowing exactly what’s underway and what it’s likely to cost.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 2026 | 8A | 4 BR · 3 BA · 2,100 sf | $2,685,000 | $1,279/sf | -0.4% |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 12D | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,490,000 | -3.6% | |
| Feb 6, 2026 | 2D | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,149,000 | -7.7% | |
| Jan 13, 2025 | 12B | 4 BR · 3 BA · 1,814 sf | $2,205,000 | $1,216/sf | +0.2% |
| Aug 29, 2024 | 2B | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,738 sf | $1,350,000 | $777/sf | -15.6% |
| Sep 20, 2023 | 3D | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,400,000 | -3.4% | |
| Apr 14, 2022 | 1C | 3 BR · 2 BA | $2,625,000 | -2.8% | |
| Jul 28, 2021 | 3B | 3 BR · 3 BA | $2,038,675 | -2.9% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,115/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 2.8% 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.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 2026 | 12AC | $5,500,000 |
| Aug 18, 2025 | 10B | $2,100,000 |
| Nov 1, 2021 | 11C | $2,085,000 |
| Sep 20, 2017 | 5B | $2,400,000 |
| Jun 23, 2015 | 3C | $1,875,000 |
| Sep 11, 2012 | 4A | $2,500,000 |
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 1-01890-0053) 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
This is a board-approval cooperative, so the package and interview matter and the financing posture is conservative. Underwrite to strong post-closing liquidity and confirm your intended use against the building's owner-occupancy orientation — this is a residence-first house. Budget any transfer fee into your closing math. The reward is a gracious prewar home in a landmark Ajello-and-Paterno palazzo, a block from Riverside Park, at the value upper West End offers against the avenue's lower-numbered addresses. We pressure-test your package against the board's expectations before you submit.
What to know if you’re selling
The marketing story is architecture and address: an Ajello-designed Italian Renaissance palazzo with Venetian balconies, full service, and the Riverside-and-Broadway location buyers searching the upper avenue want. Inventory is thin, so a well-prepared listing draws a focused, qualified pool — preparation, light staging, and accurate pricing against the live comparable set convert that interest into an accepted offer. Price to recent upper West End prewar closings of similar size and condition, and let the building's pedigree and full-service operation support the number. The Roebling Team prepares the board-package narrative alongside the listing so an accepted offer clears review cleanly.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 885 West End Avenue, also evaluate these nearby prewar West End and Riverside cooperatives:
- 871 West End Avenue — prewar West End cooperative nearby
- 890 West End Avenue — West End Avenue cooperative across the street
- 915 West End Avenue — prewar West End Avenue cooperative
- 801 West End Avenue — full-service West End cooperative to the south
- 790 West End Avenue — prewar West End cooperative peer
The Roebling Team at 885 West End Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, West End Avenue, Riverside Drive, and the prewar cooperative market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating a building this specific deserve building-level intelligence — the architecture, the board posture, the amenity set, and where a given apartment sits against the live comparable set.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at 885 West End, a 30-minute consultation is the right first step — we'll walk the building, the policies, and the pricing with you.
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.