One of the Upper East Side's largest apartment buildings, this 366-unit, white-brick structure was erected in 1968 and converted to a cooperative in 1986. The 19-story building is quite conventional in its design, but its entrance and lobby were very handsomely redone in the late 1990's and now are very elegant and bright. Many apartments have balconies and there are several terraces. Although the central portion of the building's blockfront on First Avenue is recessed, the building, intelligently, maintained the retail frontage along the building line. In recent years, this far east area of the Upper East Side has undergone considerable upgrading with the construction of many new luxury high-rise apartment towers. As a result, the neighborhood is quite lively with many restaurants and a broad selection of neighborhood stores. Although it is fairly long walk to the subway station at Lexington Avenue and 77th Street, crosstown buses are frequent on both 79th and 72nd Streets. The building has two pools and a picnic area on its roof.