CL Tower, 203 East 121st Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 203 East 121st Street by Carter Horsley

Leasing began in the summer of 2011 at CL Tower, a 12-story rental apartment building with 60 units at 203 East 121st Street in East Harlem.

The red-brick building has a part-time doorman, a health club, a roof deck, a gym, a residents lounge, a laundry room, and bicycle storage.

All units feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, custom wood cabinets and large windows with exposures in all directions still available, and most have small, private balconies.

It has 23 different floorplans.

"This is the perfect opportunity for young renters," says Haim Levy of Cohen and Levy Development Group, LLC which completed the building earlier this year. "Many look to Brooklyn for hip and affordable New York City living and fail to realize what an interesting and ideal location East Harlem is," Mr. Levy said.

The CL Tower is close to the burgeoning restaurant row of 1st Avenue, with the acclaimed Hawaiian barbeque of Makana, exquisite French pastries by La Tropezienne and world-famous pizza at Patsy's, he said., adding that "just a 10-minute walk away is the East River Plaza, an ambitious retail mecca with Manhattan's only Target and Costco and a host of other big-name clothing, furniture and electronics stores."

The 4, 5 and 6 subway lines and Metro-North Railroad are nearby.

Studios started at $1,450 a month.

"We are seeing young, trendsetting renters, including students and professionals, who want to get more bang for their buck and realize what a desirable offer this is," says Asher Alcobi, founder and president of Peter Ashe Real Estate, the brokerage firm for CL Tower. Jesse Barton, the on-site leasing agent, adds that doctors and nurse practitioners are renting units because of the area's proximity to many of Manhattan's medical institutions.

Gerald J. Caliendo is the architect.