The Olcott, 27 West 72nd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 27 West 72nd Street by Carter Horsley

The Olcott is a handsome, 16-story, mid-block, pre-war apartment building at 27 West 72^nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. 

It was erected in 1925 and 99 of its 102 rental apartments were converted to condominiums in 2005 by Brack Capital, of which Mose Dan-Azougi is a principal, and Stellar Management of which Laurence Gluck is a principal. 

The building was designed by George Pelham and originally had about 227 units, of which 90 were transient, 31 were professional, three were commercial and one was a "lounge unit" on the roof. The professional units in the building are on the second through the ninth floors. 

The building has 162 condominium apartments. 

The building extends through the block to 24-26 West 73rd Street and it is on the same block as the famous Dakota apartment building that fronts on Central Park West.

One of the commercial units in the building is Dallas BBQ, a restaurant.

Bottom Line

An elegant, mid-block, mid-rise, pre-war building that is down the block from the Dakota and Central Park.

This is a prime, central Upper West Side location on a pleasant street that is convenient to Central Park, many restaurants, excellent local shopping and is not too far from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts a few blocks to the south. 

There is an express subway station at 72nd Street and Broadway and a local station at 72nd Street and Central Park West.

Description

The 170-foot tall building has a large entrance marquee and a limestone bandcourse above the third floor, false balconies on the sixth and ninth floors, a terracotta band course above the 12th floor and a nice projecting terracotta cornice. 

It has a three-story rusticated limestone base with arched windows on the 2nd and 15th floors. 

It has an exposed rooftop watertank, consistent fenestration with 6-over-1 windows and discrete air-conditioners.

Amenities

The building has a bicycle room, a fitness center and a children's playroom. The lobby has marble columns and ornate elevators with brass doors on the ground floor and interiors of mahogany, marble, mother-of-pearl and brass.

Apartments

Kitchens have Sub-Zero refrigerators, Dacor cooktops and wall ovens and Miele dishwashers. 

Apartment G5 is a 433-square-foot studio with a 16-foot-wide living space. 

Apartment 1415 is a two-bedroom unit with a 21-foot-long living room. 

Apartment 502 is a three-bedroom unit that has an long entry foyer that leads to a 14-foot-wide gallery that opens onto a 23-foot-long living/dining area.

History

Brack had purchased the building for about $70 million in 2004 from the Slutsky and Borshuck families that had owned it since 1951 and had previously owned the Nevelle Hotel in Ellenville, N.Y. 

The Brack Capital Real Estate portfolio also includes 90 West Street, the great Cass Gilbert skyscraper that was damaged in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, 150 East 85th Street, 230 Riverside Drive, Chartwell House, the Element at 225 East 60th Street, and 15 Union Square West. 

Martin Balsam lived in the building when he won an Oscar for “A Thousand Clowns” and Tiny Tim, an eccentric entertainer who liked to sing “tip-toe through the tulips” stayed for a while and according to an article by Robin Pogrebin in the July 2, 1995    edition of The New York Times “performers at Lincoln Center or on Broadway continue to rent rooms there are weekly rates of $500 to $680, maid service included.