Linden 78, 230 West 78th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 230 West 78th Street by Carter Horsley

Linden 78 is a 20-story,  mid-block apartment building at 230 West 78th Street, which has a very substantial cantilever over the low-rise buildings just to its west along Broadway.

The building, which is on the south side of 78th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway, has setbacks at the 13th, 15th and 18th floors. Its cantilever starts at the sixth floor on its west side.

As a result, the beige-brick building, which has 35 condominium apartments, had a surprising amount of "light and air" when it was completed in 2009.

In October, 2011, however, GlobeSt.com reported that a new, 181-unit rental apartment building would be built on the large vacant lot on the northeast corner of Broadway at 227 West 77th Street by Friedland Properties. Known as the Larstrand, the 20-story building obstructed many of the views to the south of Linden 78's many lot-line windows on its rear, south-facing, façade.

Linden 78 is a development of Urban Residential Properties, of which Christopher Martorella is the chief executive officer and sole principal.

Handel & Associates is the architectural firm for the project.

Bottom Line

This 20-story, mid-block apartment tower located on a lovely block is cantilevered over a building to the west and has some fireplaces, a roof deck and a garden with a waterfall.

Description

The building's masonry façades give way partially to glass on the 15th through the 17th floors and fully to glass on the 18th through the 20th floors.

Amenities

The building has a 24-hour attended lobby, a garden with a waterfall feature, a landscaped roof deck, a children’s playroom, a fitness center, ground floor refrigerated storage for groceries and ground floor bicycle storage.

Apartments

Some of the apartments have fireplaces with bluestone surrounds and hearths.

There are three full-floor penthouses.

Apartments have side-by-side Miele washers and dryers and are prewired with the option of a Cytexone automation system that offers control of heating/cooling and audio/visual systems, lighting and window shades. Apartments also have walk-in linen and entry closets, one of which will be large enough for "pram parking."

Kitchens have been crafted by Florense, the green-certified, Brazilian-based cabinetry firm and have Viking and Miele appliances and many will have windowed breakfast areas.

Master baths have Luce Di Luna marble countertops with double sinks, Mezzanine Mink glass wall tiles, Lagos Azul limestone floors.

Ceiling heights range from 9 to 11 feet and the lobby floor has a Linden leaf mosaic design.

Apartment 10A is a three-bedroom unit with a 10-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 23-foot-long living/dining room next to a 18-foot-long eat-in kitchen.

History

Urban Residential's other New York projects include 255 Hudson Street and 505 Greenwich Street, both designed by Handel & Associates, and NoLiTa Place, and the Sycamore, both designed by H. Thomas O'Hara, SoHo 25 on Houston Street, designed by H. Thomas O'Hara and Beyer Blinder Belle.

Location

The building is on one of the nicest side-streets on the Upper West Side.

There is excellent public transportation in the vicinity and Zabar's is only a couple of blocks to the north on Broadway.