JLL has been retained on an exclusive basis to arrange for the sale
of 520 West End Avenue, a 5-story apartment house located on the
northeast corner of West End Avenue and West 85th Street. This
historic property, known as the John B. and Isabella Leech House
was originally designed as a single-family mansion by renowned
19th century architect Clarence True, before being converted to a
multiple dwelling in the mid-20th century. Known to generations of
Upper West Siders as “The Castle”, the property’s historic pedigree
and prominent corner location provides brilliant naturally lit interiors
and extraordinary street presence.
The apartments are arranged as two 1-bedrooms, three 2-bedrooms,
and two 3-bedrooms of which 6 are Free Market, 1 is Rent Stabilized
and 1 is Rent Controlled. The Free-Market apartments are currently
leased for an average of $5,623 per month. Unit 7-8 is duplexed to
the roof and features direct access to a private roof deck and Units
2 & 9 have access to their own balconies. The ground floor unit
(1A) is leased to Little Ivies Day-Care through Sept-2029 currently
paying $5,795 per month.
520 West End Avenue shows magnificently with clean, bright
public areas, and excellent light and air given the property’s corner
location. The property will continue to capitalize on surging rental
growth due to its primarily Free Market status, proximity to Columbia
University, access to the 1 train along Broadway and high-quality
common area and apartment renovations. The property has been
well cared for by family ownership which has reinvested significant
capital into maintaining the building.
Drivers of growth in the short term include the ongoing citywide
rental growth and the property’s stellar location just west of the 1
train on Broadway and its proximity to Riverside Park. In addition
to natural rent growth in both the long and short term, a substantial
amount of future value can be created by renovating the Rent
Controlled unit upon vacature and setting a first rent.
520 West End Avenue represents an attractive opportunity to own a
low maintenance, mostly Free Market building with strong in-place
cash flow. The property will be sold on an as-is where-is basis.