The Grand Millennium, 1965 Broadway: Review and Ratings

Review of 1965 Broadway by Carter Horsley

Occupying a prime corner in the Lincoln Center district, the Grand Millennium at 1965 Broadway at 66^th street is an attractive, 32-story mixed-use building that was developed by Christopher M. Jeffries, Philip E. Aarons and Philip H. Lovett, the founders of Millennium Partners, which developed two other major residential and retail towers at the north end of the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue in an area known as Lincoln Square. 

It was designed by Gary Handel & Associates and Schuman Lichtenstein Claman & Efron. 

Several floors are used as hotel units and above the retail base, which for many years was occupied by a very popular Tower Records store, are 200 condominium apartments. 

The hotel units are known as the Phillips Club and occupy four floors in the building. The units are designed for "extended stay" use and proved so successful in the tight hotel market of 1997 in the city that the developers decided to double the number of units to 192 by expanding into the former Chinese Mission to the United Nations Building, a 9-story structure next door on West 66th Street. 

The developers built a new mission for the Chinese on First Avenue and 35th Street. 

The Grand Millennium building was completed in late 1996.

Bottom Line

The western part of the three-tower enclave created by Millennium Partners at the north end of the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue, completing the major renaissance of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts district just to the south. The area is the heart of the Upper West Side and abounds in restaurants and shops and is well served by public transportation.

Description

Its tower which has a slightly curved end facing south, is set back on a five-story base. The curved, mostly glass south façade has a more modern character than most of its neighbors. 

The design related to nothing in the vicinity although the setback tower at least opens up the congested area to a bit more "light and air." 

Given its prominent location at the heart of the area's considerable cultural and retail activity, an opportunity to do something dramatic and significant was missed here. Still as part of Millennium Partner's trio of towers here it helped to significantly reinforce the popularity and desirability of this neighborhood, which is one of the city's most successful because of the abundance of good retail, many movie theaters, many restaurants, and many apartment towers, to say nothing of the "culture" available at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the great comestibles available at the huge Whole Foods store in the basement at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Center.

Amenities

The building has a 24-hour doorman/concierge, a bicycle room, and is pet friendly.

Apartments

Some of the units have fireplaces and balconies and all have TV security and intrusion alarms. 

Apartments have floor-to-ceiling windows and there are some terraces. 

Kitchens have SubZero, Miele and Bosch appliances. 

Apartment 15E is a two-bedroom unit that has an 11-foot-long entry foyer that opens onto a 22-foot-long angled living room and an open 10-foot-long dining area next to an enclosed 8-foot-long kitchen. 

Apartment 16A is a three-bedroom unit that has a 10-foot-long entry foyer that leads to a 21-foot-long living room next to an open 14-foot-long corner dining room next to a 13-foot-long pass-through kitchen. 

Apartment 16B is a three-bedroom unit that has an 18-foot-wide entry foyer that leads to a 35-foot-wide living/dining room with a curved window wall and a 27-foot-long terrace.  The apartment has an angled 15-foot-long kitchen. 

Apartment 8E is a two-bedroom unit that has an 8-foot-wide foyer that opens onto a 22-foot-wide angled living room with a 10-foot-wide dining area and an angled, 62-foot-long terrace. 

Apartment 8F has a foyer that opens onto a 19-foot-long living room with an open 12-foot-long dining room that opens onto a 40-foot-long terrace.  The one-bedroom unit has a 10-foot-long pass-through kitchen. 

Apartment 29E is a three-bedroom unit with a 39-foot-long entry gallery that leads to a 11-foot-wide foyer between a 22-foot-long corner living room with a 12-foot-long den and a 21-foot-long corner dining room next to a 11-foot-long kitchen with a 13-foot-long breakfast room.  The apartment also has a 13-foot-long library.

Location

The building is across the street from an Apple Store and diagonally across Broadway from a very large cineplex and a large Reebok Club and it is just to the north of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. 

It is also near many restaurants such as Atlantic Grill and Café Bouley and there is excellent public transportation.