One East River Place, 525 East 72nd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 525 East 72nd Street by Carter Horsley

This huge, sleek tower is probably the most impressive postwar rental residential building in the city when it was built, at least from an architectural standpoint.

It is impressive because it has a sensational glass curtain wall that is slightly curved on its south façade, many stupendous views of the East River, a very grand plaza and lobby, and its own gatehouse and landscaped park.

While it may reek with sophisticated but clean design, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Some may quibble that its muted green color is neither vibrant nor glorious, and that its location is neither convenient nor without some distractions like very tall chimneys to the north and several other very tall luxury apartment towers nearby. Others may also scoff at the "backyard" site of the tower facing the rear of a row of low-rise buildings on 72nd Street. The building's gatehouse and park adjoin the driveway entrance on 72nd Street and the tower is actually located on the south side of 73rd Street.

Such caveats aside, however, this building, which has no setbacks, is extremely elegant and the best of the imposing group clustered near Sotheby's, the auction house, on the southeast corner of York Avenue and 72nd Street.

The 49-story building, which was designed by Davis, Brody & Associates, has a health club and pool on the top floor, a concierge and doorman, a garage with valet parking, marble baths and floor-to-ceiling large windows. It is not close to subways, but crosstown buses stop at 72nd Street and York Avenue.

It was erected in 1989 by Sheldon Solow, the developer of the sloping skyscraper at 9 West 57th Street and the rounded black-glass tower at 265 East 66th Street.

In a February 5, 1989 article in The New York Times, Alan S. Oser wrote that "the major piece of property in the assemblage of the 26,000-square-foot site was a former gas station and parking lot at 73rd Street and the East River, which Mr. Solow acquired 10 years ago, with no clear idea when or how he would build on it, he said."

"At the time," the article continued, "the land was zoned for manufacturing. A rezoning spurred by the Manhattan office of the Department of City Planning cleared the way for several projects, with buildings agreeing either to restore and upgrade certain existing manufacturing space or to contribute to major street improvemnts or the extension of the East River promenade. Mr. Solow, meanwhile, also brought the throughblock loft building at 521 East 72nd Street and renovated it to be used in part as a relocation resource for rent-regulated tenants in No. 525. Eighteen tenants moved into the neighboring building, getting newly renovated apartments at their former rent. Mr. Solow also bought 100,000 square feet of development rights from a string of co-op town houses at the eastern edge of 72nd Street. And he spent about $2.5 million to finance the construction of the turnaround and overlook at the East River end of 72nd Street and the reconstruction of the East River promenade from 63rd to 71st Street."

What is extraordinary about this project, which is known as One East River Place, is how discrete it is since it is almost hidden from the nearby view of pedestrians who probably gasp when they happen upon its polish and scale.