Azure, 333 East 91st Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 333 East 91st Street by Carter Horsley

The Azure is an attractive, 34-story apartment building at 331 East 91st Street, which also has the address of 1765 First Avenue in Yorkville.

It is part of a mixed-use project that includes a 520-seat Middle School 114 that was built by the city s Educational Construction Fund.

As the city retained ownership of the land, the condop tower has 128 units ranging from 600 square-foot studios to four-bedroom terraced residences at over 3,000 square-feet. 

The building was completed in 2010.

The DeMatteis Organization and the Mattone Group were the developers and James Davidson of SCLE Architects was the designer of the tower.

Bottom Line

The Azure is a very handsome apartment tower with good views that is not far from Asphalt Green, a non-profit community recreation center on 5.5 acres with an Olympic-size pool, and Carl Schurz Park.  It is part of a mixed-use project that includes the East Side Middle School 114, which is convenient for some residents with children. 

Description

The building has some balconies and uses air-rights from four adjacent low-rise residential buildings on the avenue. As part of the city's inclusionary housing program it has provided about 10,000 square feet of affordable housing off-site. The apartment tower rises over a low-rise base.

The school has a brick façade on 91st Street and has planters and benches in front of it on 91st Street and recreational playgrounds on 92nd Street.

Amenities

The Azure’s lobby has an original glass art wall by Weil Studio and 24-hour concierge service by Stellar Concierge.

It also has a rooftop terrace, a residents' lounge and dining room, a children's playroom, a fitness center, valet service, Fresh Direct cold storage facility, bicycle storage, personal storage and two landscaped roof terraces with direct elevator access.

The building is also pet-friendly.

Apartments

The vast majority of the apartments have two or more bedrooms. 

The interior of each home includes rich Brazilian Afromosia flooring and ample closet space. Kitchens feature CaesarStone counters, custom made European cabinetry that extends to the ceiling, extra wide sinks, Viking stoves and refrigerators, and Bosch dishwashers. Master baths include brushed nickel Kallista fixtures, double sinks, oversized shower stalls and Italian marble floors, walls and countertops.

One of the nicest layouts is 6G, which has an enclosed kitchen on one side of the foyer and a dining room on the other side.  It also has a 27-foot-long living room and a bedroom with a large walk-in closet.

A studio on the fifth floor has a very long foyer with an enclosed kitchen.

A four-bedroom unit on the 31^st floor has a very large foyer that leads to a very large living and dining room area with a small balcony.  It also has a master bedroom with an enormous walk-in closet.

Apartment B on floors 8 through 20 is a two-bedroom unit with an open kitchen near the entrance foyer that leads to a 24-foot-long living/dining area with East River views.

History

The Educational Construction Fund was created in 1966 and it best known for its mixed-use developments such as the office-building/Norman Thomas High School on the southeast corner of Park Avenue and 34th Street and the apartment building/Robert F. Kennedy School on 88th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues.

Jamie Smarr, executive director of the fund, told the community board that the new school replaced P.S. 151 that had been vacant on the site since 2000 and that the project  permitted the creation of a $40-million, "modern, 21st Century school at no capital or expense outlay for the city." It is known as the East Side Middle School and it had been operating in cramped quarters at P.S. 158 and its student enrollment had been about 200 students.