A ‘boutique-sized’ prewar building with spacious layouts close to city landmarks
The New Century, a nine-story apartment house completed in 1900, came to be during Manhattan's westward expansion. The extension of the Ninth Avenue elevated railway —
though now vanished — gave easy access to a once-distant edge of the city, prompting a rush of developers to build housing for the upper classes who yearned to escape the chaos of downtown. Unlike the grand apartment houses that occupy full blocks like The Apthorp one block away or The Belnord on the edge of Central Park, The New Century is considered a French Flat, a smaller building with similar characteristics to its larger counterparts. “It's fairly boutique in size for the Upper West Side,” says Alex Carpinello, a real estate agent with Elegran, the Forbes Global Properties agency in New York City. “Large pre-war buildings are really common on the Upper West Side, and so to have a smaller building with a really beautiful prewar facade is unique.”
Considered by the West End Preservation Society as one of West End Ave’s more “notable” French Flats, The New Century’s simple Beaux-Arts facade comprises a two-story limestone base with horizontal bands of beige and red bricks throughout the rest of the building. Originally, the William B. Franke-designed structure housed just two apartments with three bathrooms each per floor; however, units have since been divvied up and now number 59 in total. Despite the reconfiguration, Carpinello believes that the “layouts are spacious”.
"I think the location is really great here,” adds Vanessa Richardson, who works with Carpinello at Elegan. “You’re only a block away from the subway. You walk from the Natural History Museum and you’re super close to Riverside Park as well.”
An ‘iconic' corner and ‘jewel-shaped’ rooms with classic prewar features
Converted to a co-op in 1990, The New Century sits one block from Riverside Park and directly on West End Avenue and 79th Street, a location Carpinello refers to as “iconic.” Occupying a corner of one of Manhattan’s only 15 streets commissioned at 100 feet wide rather than the standard 60 feet during the establishment of the borough’s grid in 1811, 79th Street has the width of a Manhattan Avenue. The extra space creates an exceptional openness around the building, a rare occurrence in Manhattan’s tightly packed streets.
Turreted edges facing both the street and avenue, along with curved bays to the building’s rear, round-out corners, permitting multiple exposures and wider vistas while creating interesting moments within units. “There are some nice, kind of hexagonal shapes in the living area and bedrooms; those jewel-shaped rooms are really unique,” Carpinello says. Many prewar features remain like high ceilings, elegant arched doorways, glass doorknobs and in-built shelving which residents use for everything from a bar to a bookshelf. Kitchens, whether open to other living spaces or galleyed in a separate room, are generously spaced and typically windowed. Foyers here are also generally large and have been used by residents as office space.
A range of unit sizes within accessible policies
Over the years, units have been combined and are priced accordingly. Not many studios exist, but they have cost between $450,000 and $653,000 in the past. Three one-bedrooms were on offer during the winter of 2025, ranging between $490,000 and $715,000. Two-bedrooms rarely surface. The last one — which was 1,000 square feet — sold in 2019 for $1.065 million and prior to that, the most recent sale was in 2010. Three-bedrooms change hands a little more often (though not by much) with a price range between $1.75 million and $2.5 million. Four bedrooms are extremely rare and are the result of combinations.
“Co-ops can be alienating to a certain contingent of buyers, and I think this is a very first-time-home-buyer-friendly, investor-friendly building. They allow unlimited subletting with board approval, which is very unique for a co-op. With board approval, they allow pied-a-terres, they’re post-purchasing, friendly, and gifting is allowed with board approval. Plus they allow people to buy with 20% down and no flip tax. All of those things make it very accessible,” says Carpinello.
No modern amenities but full-time staff and classic pre-war design are a bonus
Since New Century is a prewar building, it lacks modern amenities like a gym (there are several of those in the neighborhood), but there are building perks. Staff includes a 24-hour doorman, a full-time porter and a live-in super. The building is pet-friendly and there is bike storage and laundry in the building. The lobby’s recent renovation retains pre-war details like coffered ceilings, marble floors and classical wall paneling. A cozily furnished waiting room sits right off the entrance.
A short stroll to everyday conveniences and popular New York City landmarks
West End Avenue is almost completely residential and, because of this, residents must walk to Broadway for everyday conveniences. But there’s only one miniature block between the building and Broadway (the commercial corridor cuts through the neighborhood at an angle that creates several smaller-than-average blocks), so residents are always close to banks, restaurants and pharmacies. There are also several grocery stores within a six-block radius, including a Key Food and Fairway. Local bakery and gourmet deli Zabar’s flagship store is on the corner of 80th and the original Levain — legendary New York City cookie purveyors — is on 74th. A New York Sports Club is on 80th Street and several other boutique gyms are only a few blocks away.
The building’s location on 79th Street means residents are in proximity to a few well-known city landmarks. A 15-minute stroll eastward ends at the four-block Theodore Roosevelt Park, which includes sprawling public lawns, a dog run and houses the monumental American Museum of Natural History. Bordering this park is Central Park West and several entrances to the seminal urban greenspace. One block to the west of the building is the 100-block Riverside Park. The 79th Street entrance leads to the West 79th Street Boat Basin (a public Marina undergoing repairs until 2028), the River Run playground and walking and biking paths.
Quick access to several modes of transportation
One advantage of living on a major thoroughfare is that residents are never too far from transportation. Just one block east is the 1 train on Broadway — “less than 500 feet away,” Richardson says — and one block west is an on-ramp to the Henry Hudson Parkway. The M79 bus runs crosstown and, for uptown and downtown bus commutes, the M5 travels along Riverside Drive and the M11 traverses Broadway. A Citi Bike docking station is only two blocks away on Amsterdam.
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Quantarium
Current List Price
Sold Price
Area Factors
Low Crime
Crime Score®
3/ 10
Very Bikeable
Bike Score®
77/ 100
Walker's Paradise
Walk Score®
98/ 100
Rider's Paradise
Transit Score®
100/ 100
Sources: WhatIsMyCrimeRisk.com, Walk Score
Sources: WhatIsMyCrimeRisk.com, Walk Score
WhatIsMyCrimeRisk.com, Powered by CAP Index provides objective, accurate, and consistent data to help measure, compare, and mitigate crime risks. Walk Score® measures the walkability of any address. Transit Score® measures access to public transit. Bike Score® measures the bikeability of any address.
Sound Score® measures the noise level of any address. Environmental risk data is provided by First Street Foundation® and is designed to approximate risk and not intended to include all possible scenarios.
Parks in this Area
Riverside Park
1 min walk
Henry Neufeld Playground
4 min walk
Playground
Parking Lot
Hippo Playground
5 min walk
Playground
Classic Playground
5 min walk
South Lawn
6 min walk
Tecumseh Playground
6 min walk
Basketball
Picnic Area
Soccer
Theodore Roosevelt Park
7 min walk
Dog Park
Picnic Area
Trails
Verdi Square
9 min walk
Picnic Area
Trails
West 87th Street Dog Run
9 min walk
Schools
Source:
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