ARO, 242 West 53rd Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 242 West 53rd Street by Carter Horsley

This sprightly and bright skyscraper on the former site of the Roseland Ballroom, the dance hall, at 242 West 53rd Street was erected in 2018 by Algin Management and has 426 rental apartments. 

The 62-story tower was designed by CetraRuddy and sits on a low-rise, through-block podium whose multi-level roof is landscaped. 

An April 7, 2014 article by Mary Beth Griggs at smithsonian.com  noted that Lady Gaga will perform a final concert at the Roseland Ballroom that night. 

"The venue's been a New York institution since it opened its doors to the city in 1919, and has reinvented itself more than once to keep up with changing fashions. You can imagine that a pop star known for her extreme fashion wouldn’t have always been welcome at a place that banned the twist in 1961 because the dance was 'lacking in grace.' But the once-segregated dance hall, which featured performances from Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra, transformed over time into a venue for concerts and boxing matches." 

The building, the article continued, was "originally a skating rink." 

"In the Ballroom’s heyday, in the 1920s," the article noted, "it was located one block away from the current location and featured jazz music and dancing. It was able to elude (or attempt to elude) some of the strict dancing laws of the day, which forbade dance marathons....The Roseland kept dancing well into the 1970s, when founder Louis Brecker died, and ownership of the ballroom passed to his daughter, who sold it in 1981. After that, the venue started hosting bands like Metallica, The Rolling Stones and Madonna, and became a venue for boxing matches that drew celebrities to ring-side seats." 

Roseland was around the corner from Studio 54 on 54th Street.

Bottom Line

With its very attractive, alternating fenestration patterns, this tall "trellis" tower is a knock-out development in Midtown West a few blocks south of "Billionaire's Row" and a few blocks north of the Theater District.

Description

The building has a revolving door entrance that leads to a double-height space with a concierge station in front of a very large glass mural that reflects the sectional nature of the building's fenestration. 

The building's base has a four-level, landscaped roof, is slightly indented at its entrance, which has sidewalk landscaping, and is rakishly angled. 

The tower's white metal façades are deeply indented and some parts are cantilevered slightly.  Many of the windows are curved and the tower's many terraces have glass railings. 

The top three floors have large windows and the roof has an attractive watertank enclosure. 

Amenities

The building has a 24-hour doorman and concierge, attended parking, a children's playroom, a game room, three lounges, a half-basketball court, a golf simulator, a private dining room, and fitness center with a swimming pool with hanging curved lighting. Pets are allowed.

Apartments

Apartments have 10-foot ceilings and Bosch washers and dryers. 

Penthouse 61A is a three-bedroom unit with a long entry foyer that leads to a 24-foot-wide living/dining room with an open kitchen with an island and a curved window wall with a large curbed terrace. 

Apartment 55A is a three-bedroom unit with an entry foyer that leads to a 17-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen with a breakfast bar and a curved window wall. 

Apartment 59/E is a two-bedroom unit with a 16-foot-long living room with a curved terrace next to a 9-foot-long dining room and an open kitchen with a breakfast bar. 

Apartment 37E is a two-bedroom unit with a 19-foot-long living/dining room with a curved window wall and an open kitchen with a breakfast bar. 

Apartment 37H is a one-bedroom unit with 529 square feet with a 14-foot-square living/dining room with an open kitchen. 

Apartment 4D is a studio with an entry foyer that leads to a 15-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen with a breakfast bar and a 12-foot-long alcove.