The Highpoint, 250 East 40th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 250 East 40th Street by Carter Horsley

The Highpoint is a slender, 48-story tower on the southwest corner of Second Avenue at 250 East 40^th Street. 

It was erected in 1988 by East/West Venture (Haseko) and Toru Nagayama and is one of several tall apartment towers in a dense cluster north of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. 

It was designed by Wechsler, Grasso, Menziuso P.C. 

It was completed in 1988 and has 234 condominium apartments.

Bottom Line

Not far from Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations, this tower is also close to the cluster of high-rise towers around the Manhattan entrance to the
Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

Description

Setback in a small corner plaza, this spindly tower is rather spiffy with its corner windows flanked by white stone for most of its height until its corner sets back for some balconies and then is topped by two balcony-less top floors.  One almost imagines its top slightly cocked like Michael Jackson about to prance into his next moon-walk.  The top, of course, is not cocked, but the indented corner suggests some sort of syncopation, because of the many piers of balconies, even if the music is hard to hear above the din of Second Avenue traffic. 

If buildings were people, this might be Tom ("Bonfire of the Vanities") Wolfe in a pin-stripe suit and white fedora. 

The design touch of not placing the "pier" accents at the corners, just near them, is quite brilliant and gives the building much more character.  So strong are these accents that the shift in balcony placement on the upper floors is hardly noticeable, another strong design feature.  

Amenities

The Highpoint has a 24-hour doorman and concierge, a bicycle room, a common storage room, a health club with a swimming pool, yoga room, steam room, Jacuzzi and laundry facilities.  It allows pets.

Apartments

Some of the apartments have bidets and washer/dryers and all have intrusion alarms. 

Apartment 10A has a 9-foot-long pass-through kitchen that leads to a 19-foot-long living room with a balcony. 

Apartment A on the 5^th through the 35^th floors is a one-bedroom unit with a long foyer that leads past a 7-foot-long kitchen to a 16-foot-long living room with a small balcony. 

Apartment 43C has a long entry foyer that leads to a 31-foot-long living room/dining room and a pass-through kitchen.  Both bedrooms have small balconies. 

Apartment 40BC is a three-bedroom unit that has an entrance hall that leads to 31-foot-long great room  and a 16-foot-long study, a 12-foot-long open kitchen, an 8-foot-long office, a 7-foot-long maid’s room. Two of the bedrooms have small balconies.