393 West End Avenue: Review and Ratings

Review of 393 West End Avenue by Carter Horsley

This handsome, 16-story apartment building at 393 West End Avenue on the southwest corner at West 79^th Street was erected in 1927 and was designed by Goldner & Goldner, which also designed 502 Park Avenue.

It was purchased in August, 2012 by Simon Development Group, which is headed by Matthew Baron, and Cube Capital, a London-based private equity firm, for $68.3 million after it had been sold by Hirth Real Estate Entities for $55.6 million in March, 2012 to A&E Real Estate Management.

The building had 113 apartments when it was acquired by Simon and Cube and an article by Adam Fusfeld in the August 21, 2012 edition of therealdeal.com said that “more than 50 percent” were “market-rate.”

A January 23, 2015 article by Michelle Higgins in The New York Times said that Baron is combining vacant units to create 47 large apartments with families in mind.  Baron’s other Manhattan properties include 244 East 86^th Street, the city’s first pre-war elevator building on the Upper East Side, Tower 31, a new 42-story rental apartment tower at 9 West 31^st Street, 166 West 75^th Street, a 200-unit, mid-block, pre-war rental building, and 12 East 88^th Street, mid-block apartment building designed by Rosario Candela.

The article said that Vincent Wolf is designing the apartments and that they were expected to rent from $5,250 a month for one-bedroom to $23,000 a month for a four-bedroom.

Bottom Line

This nice pre-war rental apartment building is across West End Avenue from the Apthorp and convenient to the Riverside Park and the Broadway subway and Zabar’s.

Description

The beige-brick building has a canopied entrance with an elaborate and handsome two-story stone entrance surround with finials, a shield, oculi, sconces and columns.

There is a decorative bandcourse above the first floor and window surrounds on the second floor with twisted columns topped with vases.

There is a string course above the 15^th floor and a cornice.

The building has some window air-conditioners.

Amenities

The building has a full-time doorman, courtyard, a gym and a children’s playroom.