The construction in the late 1980’s of the huge and handsome World Wide Plaza mixed-use project on the full-block, former site of Madison Square Garden at 50th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues marked the start of the redevelopment of Eighth Avenue in midtown, which for a generation had been very run down and the city’s pornography center.

One of the first new projects was this 29-story rental apartment building, which was completed in 1987.

This red-brick building at 260 West 52nd Street and 860 Eighth Avenue has a very nice, large base with ribbed piers and large windows topped by a setback tower with many balconies.

The building adjoins the theater district and is a few blocks north of Times Square, which had a spectacular renaissance and redevelopment in the 1990’s.

The building has about 11 apartments per floor in its base and 6 per floor in the tower. It has a total of 216 units. It has a doorman and a concierge, a bicycle room, storage space and valet service and it allows pets.

In the late 1990’s, two other luxury apartment buildings were erected nearby just to the south on the avenue. There is good cross-town bus service a couple of blocks south where there are also subway stations.

The ambiance of the neighborhood is continuing to change and become livelier although there are no nearby parks.