Park West Village, 392 Central Park West: Review and Ratings

Review of 392 Central Park West by Carter Horsley

The attractive, red-brick, 19-story slab-apartment tower at 392 Central Park West is the northwest building of the original Park West Village quadrangle, between 97th and 100th street. It is just to the west, and slightly south, of 400 Central Park West and houses 413 apartments.

The Park West Village development consists of seven, red-brick apartment complexes of 16 to 20 stories, of which these four slab-towers run from west to east.

Neither building has a name while the two south buildings around the green, 372 and 382 Central Park West, are known, respectively, as The Vaux and The Olmsted for Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted who designed Central Park.

The other three Park West Village buildings are 784 Columbus Avenue, 788 Columbus Avenue and 792 Columbus Avenue. They are mid-block slab towers that run south to north and 788 Columbus Avenue is further to the west than the other two.

This trio of towers is west of the Whole Foods store and a 29-story apartment tower at 808 Columbus Avenue, which is part of the Columbus Square development Joseph Chetrit and Laurence Gluck acquired in 2000.

The Park West Village development was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the architects of Manhattan House on the Upper East Side, and Lever House on Park Avenue. On the other hand, the Columbus Square buildings were designed by Costas Kondylis.

Park West Village was one of the city’s most controversial urban renewal projects and was known initially as Manhattantown and then West Park Apartments. It was built by Webb & Knapp, the development company of William Zeckendorf, and the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa). It took more than a decade to complete, as scandals relating to its development resulted in a major reconsideration of “slum clearance” programs in the 1960s. Luckily, the subsequent renaissance of the Upper West Side, north of 86th Street, made the enclave more desirable and much more popular.

For an extensive recap about the building and the development’s history, see CityRealty.com’s entry for The Olmsted at 382 Central Park West.

Bottom Line

Massive red-brick slabs, accented by corner and middle balconies to take advantage of the views offered by the Park West landscaping and Central Park.

Description

These large, red-brick slab-towers have balconies at their corners and in the middle of their long façades.

Amenities

The building is set on a large landscaped area with play areas and shade trees. The building has a health club, a laundry and a doorman.  

Apartments

Apartment 14KL is a two-bedroom unit with a 12-foot-long entrance foyer that leads to a 19-foot-long living room with an 18-foot-wide south-facing balcony. Next to the balcony, is an 18-foot-long dining room adjacent to a 19-foot-long pass-through kitchen.

Apartment 10HJ is a three-bedroom unit with a 12-foot-wide entry foyer that leads to an 18-foot-wide living/dining room and a 17-foot-wide pass-through kitchen.

Apartment 11K is a one-bedroom unit with a 6-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 25-foot-long living room with an 8-foot-wide dining area, adjacent to the enclosed 10-foot-kitchen. The unit has an 18-foot-wide balcony off the living room.

Apartment 6J is a studio unit with an entry foyer that leads past a 7-foot-wide kitchen to a 20-foot-long living room with a 9-foot-wide sleeping alcove.