Approx. Prices for Apartments at Channel Club, 455 East 86th Street

One of the city's most imposing sliver buildings, this monolith is a rather defiant intruder into the relatively low-rise residential neighborhood in its immediate vicinity.

This tower bursts with energy in stark contrast with the rather drab tenements nearby, although the Gracie Mansion area to the east boasts numerous "luxury" buildings that also sprouted up further north on the avenue.

The 39-story tower is distinguished by its unusually dark, reddish-purple brick and its rather complex massing. Its plaza occupies the corner and the architects, Wechsler-Grasso-Menziuso, and the developers, David Edelstein and Harvey and Edward Simpson, very nicely covered the neighboring building's blank party wall with attractive and patterned granite. The entrance, in fact, is far more impressive than one might expect, or demand, but most likely was aimed at attracting residents to an otherwise lackluster location.

While much of York Avenue remains an architectural backwater, this is one of the glitzier projects that may ultimately herald a widespread gentrification. The area, of course, is by no means shabby as the 86th Street block to the east is quite handsome with Gracie Park at its end and Brearley and Chapin, the very exclusive girls' schools, are not far away. Although the subway at Lexington Avenue is quite a hike, the cross-town buses on 86th Street are very frequent.

The building only has 164 condominium apartments, many of which have balconies and most have good, if not dazzling, views. The building has a health club, pool and sundeck and the lower two floors are commercial.