The Tower at Gramercy Square, 215 East 19th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 215 East 19th Street by Carter Horsley

This 18-story building at 215 East 19^th Street in the Gramercy Park section of Midtown East was erected in 1920 as part of the Cabrini Medical Center complex that closed in 2008 and was converted in 2016 to a 130-unit residential condominium project as part of the four-building Gramercy Square complex by The Chetrit Group, which is headed by Joseph Chetrit, Clipper Equity, which is headed by David Bitricer, and the Reed Property Group.

It is known as The Tower at Gramercy Square.

The 223-unit Gramercy Square complex occupies 1.4 acres in the middle of the block bounded by Third and Second avenues and 19^th and 20^th Streets.

It includes three other buildings: the Boutique at Gramercy Square at 220 East 20^th Street that contains 9 condo apartments, the 9-story Prewar at Gramercy Square at 225 East 20^th Street that contains 48 condo apartments, and the new Modern at 7-story 230 East 30^th Street that contains 37 condos.

Woods Bagot is the architect for the new building and the three conversions.

The complex has almost half an acre of landscaped grounds with a solarium and the courtyard has been designed by M. Paul Friedberg & Partners.

The hospital complex was founded in 1892 in Greenwich Village by Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was subsequently canonized, and was known as Columbus Hospital.  It relocated to 20^th Street in 1895.

A hospital building on the northwest corner of the complex’s site that contain its emergency room was removed and replaced by gardens.

Bottom Line

A huge, mid-rise box big enough to house a major city department store or a suburban government building, this bulky building calls itself The Tower at Gramercy Square because it is taller than the other three buildings in this mini-Gramercy Park, which is not far away, but not as distinguished.

Description

This simple and plain mid-rise building has multi-pane windows and some large apartments and some sidewalk landscaping and the complex’s nice gardens and amenities.

Amenities

The complex has The Gramercy Club, which is run by La Palestra and has 18,000-square-feet of amenities with direct access from all four buildings.  The amenities include a dining room with a catering kitchen, a gym and a 75-foot-long swimming pool, a bicycle room, a valet, a children’s playroom, a golf simulator and storage.  Each building will have a 24-hour doorman.

Apartments

Apartment 16B is a four-bedroom unit with a 16-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 16-foot-wide gallery and a 24-foot-wide living/dining room adjacent to a 36-foot-long open kitchen and family room.

Apartment 7A is an 1,850-square-foot, two-bedroom unit with a 7-foot-wi9de entry foyer that leads to a 12-foot-wide dining room and an 12-foot-wide open kitchen with an island and a 29-foot-long living room.

Apartment C on floors 9 through 15 is a 2,532-square-foot, four-bedroom unit with a 10-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 17-foot-long eat-in, open kitchen next to a 25-foot-wide great room.

Apartment H on floors 2 through 6 is a three-bedroom unit with a 10-foot-wide entry foyer that leads past a 14-foot-long open kitchen with an island to a 24-foot-long great room.