The Charleston, 225 East 34th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 225 East 34th Street by Carter Horsley

The Charleston is a 191-unit residential condominium building at 225 East 34th Street on the northeast corner of Tunnel Exit Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenues. 

The 21-story building has been designed by SLCE with HLW International as design consultant. BBGM designed the interiors and Thomas Balsey Associates is the landscape designer. 

It was developed by LCOR, which has developed more than 20,000 residential units and 16 million square feet of commercial space across the country, and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS).

Bottom Line

Convenient to the Murray Hill and Madison Square Park districts, this building has a roof deck with very impressive views of the Empire State Building. As it is close to the Queens Midtown Tunnel, there is considerable traffic in this area, which also has good public transportation.

Description

Most of the southwest corner of the building, which has a one-story base with about 11,000-square feet of commercial space, is angled and its frontage on 34th Street has three projecting bays that descend from the highest at the west to the lowest at the east. 

The building has many balconies and corner windows.

Amenities

The building has a fitness center, storage space, a catering kitchen, a media lounge and a zen garden with three waterfalls and a geometrically patterned floor. 

The large lobby has a revolving door entrance and a wall hung with hanging strings of gold-colored beads. 

The building is pet friendly.

Apartments

It has studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and several three-bedroom penthouses.   Studios have about 540 square feet, one-bedroom units have about 670 to 980 square feet, two-bedroom units have about 983 to 1,441 and three-bedroom units have about 1,712 square feet. 

Apartments have kitchens with marble countertops, wine coolers and etched glass cabinetry. 

Master bathrooms have soaking tubs and dual sinks.

Some studio apartments have 16-foot-long living areas with a dressing area and an open kitchen.

A four-bedroom unit with two small balconies opens onto a 27-foot-long dining room with a 10-foot-long open kitchen next to a 24-foot-long living room with a 9-foot-square wetbar.

History

The building is named after Charles Benenson, the New York developer who died in 2004 and had owned the site, which was formerly occupied by a vacant three-story structure. 

Mr. Benenson, a well-known art collector, was the developer of several properties in Manhattan including the Connaught apartment tower at 330 East 54th Street and at one time was the owner of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. 

"It was very important to the Benenson family that the building be named in memory of our father, Charlie," Lawrence B. Benenson, a principal of Benenson Capital Partners LLC, has commented, adding that "LCOR was gracious enough to agree and we are certain The Charleston will be one of their most successful projects." Benenson Capital Partners LLC sold the property for about $73 million.