The Willard, 252 West 76th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 252 West 76th Street by Carter Horsley

This very handsome Beaux Arts-style building at 252 West 76^th Street between West End Avenue and Broadway was erected in 1903 and designed by Ralph S. Townsend, whose other buildings included the Kennilworth on Central Park West, 190 Riverside Drive, and 425 and 640 West End Avenue.  He was a partner with Townsend, Steinle & Haskell.

The 11-story building originally was known as The Willard and was erected by Alexander McDowell who built it in 1903.  It was acquired in 1910 by Anson Phelps Stokes who owned the Ansonia Building nearby on Broadway.

The building’s rental conversion and restoration plan Stellar Management and Argent Ventures was approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2016 and renovations are expected to be completed in 2017. It has 52 rental apartments.  Steven Kratchman was the architect for the project.

Bottom Line

A very elegant Beaux Arts-style, mid-block building with bay windows in a fine Upper West Side location.

Description

The mid-block building has a three-story rusticated limestone base with a three-step-up entrance beneath a balustraded balcony topped with four urns. 

The building has arched windows on the third floor beneath three-story-high piers of bay windows on the east and west sides of the building’s façade.  The piers are part of a four-story-high limestone enclosures with an elaborate and handsome tops.  The piers stand out from the building’s red-brick façade on floors four through seven.  There is a bandcourse above the seventh floor and a more elaborate bandcourse supported by brackets on the eighth floor.

The building has a mansard roof.

The lobby has a checkerboard floor and Doric columns.

Amenities

The building has a doorman, a fitness center, a children’s room, and private storage.

Apartments

The apartments have coffered ceilings, crown moldings and white oak floors.

Kitchen cabinets have clear glass doors and under-cabinet lighting.  The kitchens have Caesarstone countertops and Chelsea Calcutta backsplashes and Liebherr, Bosch and Kohler fixtures.

Apartment 8G is a four-bedroom unit with an entry foyer and hall that lead to a long living room with an open kitchen and a bay window.  The master bedroom also has a bay window.

Apartment 9D is a one-bedroom unit with an entry foyer that leads to a long living room with a bay window and an open corner kitchen.

Apartment 4F is a one-bedroom unit with and entry next to an open kitchen that leads to the 19-foot-long living/dining room with a bay window.