The Vaux, 372 Central Park West: Review and Ratings

Review of 372 Central Park West by Carter Horsley

Although it got off to a bumpy start, the large urban renewal project now known as Park West Village is one of the more attractive of its kind and its adjacency to Central Park and impressive renaissance of the Upper West Side north of 86^th Street have made it very popular.

This building is known as The Vaux and is named after Calvert Vaux, one of the designers, with Frederick Law Olmsted, of Central Park. It is 19-stories tall and has 414 apartments like its companion building, The Olmsted, which is located at 382 Central Park West.

These two buildings comprise the southern half of the large site along Central Park West and 392 and 400 Central Park West the northern half. These slab towers run from east to west.

The Park West Village complex comprises seven, red-brick apartment houses of 16 to 20 stories between 97^th and 100^th streets.

The other three buildings in the complex are 784 Columbus Avenue, 788 Columbus Avenue and 792 Columbus Avenue. They are mid-block slab towers that run south to north. 788 Columbus Avenue is set further to the west than the other two. These three towers are west of the Whole Foods store and a 29-story apartment tower at 808 Columbus Avenue.

The original 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.

Park West Village was one of the city’s largest and 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).

The multi-block development took more than a decade to complete in 1960 and scandals relating to it led to a major rethinking about "slum clearance" programs.

Bottom Line

Across the street from Central Park and near very good public transportation and a Whole Foods store, the four eastern buildings of Park West Village comprise a classic “tower-in-a-park” residential enclave with many balconies, a lot of open space, and very good views.

Description

The multi-railed balconies at the corners and above the center entrance of this red-brick slab tower are very handsome. This and the other Park West Village towers have attractively enclosed roof-top watertanks and discrete air-conditioning units and very attractive landscaping.

The four eastern slab towers enclose a large central green. There are three other buildings in the complex and they are in the 97^th to 100^th superblock between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues and they are 784, 788 and 792 Columbus Avenue.

Amenities

The building has a health club, 24-hour concierge service, a children’s playroom, on-site parking, a community room, and a residents’ lounge.

Apartments

Apartments are not huge but many have very attractive terraces and larger than normal bedrooms.

Apartments range in size from studios to two-bedroom units.

History

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