The Justin, 225 East 81st Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 225 East 81st Street by Carter Horsley

The Justin is a rebuilt, mid-block brownstone at 225 East 81^st Street that has been enlarged and converted to an elegant limestone-clad residential project with only five condominium apartments.

It was developed in 2015 by Michael Paul Enterprises and designed by Vail Associates.

Bottom Line

A simple but quite bold limestone, mid-block building with an entrance marquee and large and elegantly tall single-pane windows with black surrounds all beneath a large but restrained bandcourse.

Description

The building has been very neatly enlarged somewhat and given a modern façade with tall windows in black frames that standout on a new limestone façade, especially at night when first floor sconces throw light up and down the façade dramatically.

The building has an entrance marquee and no sidewalk landscaping. 

Amenities

The building has a part-time doorman, a virtual doorman, a fitness center and each apartment is Smart Home ready with built-in speakers and wiring.  There is also private storage and the building is pet friendly.

Apartments

Each apartment has full-height tilt-and-turn Kolby windows, key-locked elevator access, coffered ceilings, masonry fireplaces, private outdoor space, washers and dryers, and private storage.

The apartments also have wide planked oak floors with radiant heating.

Kitchens have Subzero refrigerators, Miele dishwashers, six-burner Wolf stovetops, and Ceasarstone counters.

Bathrooms have Jacuzzi tubs, steam showers and Carrera marble.

The maisonette triplex has four bedrooms with an 18-foot-long living room with a fireplace adjacent to a 12-foot-dining room and a staircase and a 12-foot-wide kitchen and a bedroom on the middle floor, a 39-foot-long recreation room on the lower level and a master bedroom with a fireplace and two other bedrooms on the upper level.

There are 3-bedroom, full-floor units on the third through the fifth floors with a 16-foot-wide living room with a fireplace and a balcony adjoining a 16-foot-wide dining room next to an enclosed 10-foot-wide kitchen.

The penthouse has three bedrooms and a large living/dining room with a fireplace and balcony and elevator access to the entire roof.