Construction is complete on Beckford House and Beckford Tower, a pair of residential buildings in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 21-story, 215-foot-tall Beckford House is addressed as 301 East 81st Street and also secondarily addressed as 1562 Second Avenue. Its taller 31-story sibling, Beckford Tower, rises across the street at 301 East 80th Street. The architecturally cohesive structures are designed by Studio Sofield and SLCE Architects and developed by Icon Realty Management, with CM & Associates in charge of construction. The two-tower development is located along Second Avenue between East 80th and 81st Streets.
Beckford House and Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House and Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Each of the edifices are clad in Brynne Brownstone and Indiana Limestone and feature traditional grids of windows, some of which are decorated with ornate railings. Several of the windows on the upper floors are arched. The photographs below take a look at Beckford House, where we can see a cornerstone on the southwestern edge that bears the names of Icon Realty Management, Studio Sofield, and SLCE. The year 2020 is etched onto the western side of the block. The available retail space for rent measures 2,227 square feet on the ground floor and 1,614 square feet in the cellar level. Also present around the first level are ornamental light fixtures, curled metal canopies, and shrubbery at the bottom of each window, and a sidewalk awning covering the main entrance situated along East 81st Street.
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford House’s cornerstone. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower repeats the same exterior street-level elements and also includes its own cornerstone but with the year 2021 carved into the stone. There are a lot of details implemented in the fenestration such as the thick and deep cornice lines around the podium, the dark metal railings around the perimeter and in front of some windows that make up the Juliet balconies, ventilation grilles with concentric and overlapping patterns, and numerous setbacks that form the multifaceted crown.
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower. Photo by Michael Young
Beckford Tower’s cornerstone. Photo by Michael Young
Amenities inside Beckford Tower include a grand reception room, a library lounge, a residents’ piano bar and lounge, a game room with foosball, pop-a-shot, pool, ping-pong, and a TV/gaming center, a children’s playroom designed by Roto, and a party room with an adjacent catering kitchen. It also features a double-height basketball half-court, a fitness center with yoga and training studios measuring 3,000 square feet, and a 65-foot-long swimming pool with a glass ceiling, ornate metal detailing, and a custom glass mosaic wall mural.
Beckford House amenities include an ornate lobby with a walnut reception desk, a reception room and private lounge, an adjoining dining room and wet bar with a fireplace, a 22nd-floor rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen, and a fitness center with a yoga studio in the cellar level.
There are a handful of units still available, and so far the most expensive of the remaining homes is a 3,371-square-foot four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom penthouse on the 18th floor off Beckford House asking $9.5 million, and a 5,452-square-foot six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bathroom penthouse with an additional 893 square feet of exterior terrace space on the 30th floor of Beckford Tower for $30 million.
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Absolutely…….Stunning
Sofield with an inspired developer, has hit it out of the park and set the standard for quality.
I applaud the attention to beautiful details, down to the awnings, and the storefront detailing and up to the cornices….as well as the elegant and thoughtful floor plans.
This is fantastic. Kudos to the architects and to the developer that has the willingness to commit to this style. I do realize that many developments choose glass boxes for economics and fashion. However, I would offer that many people in many neighborhoods would yield much more to redevelopment with added height and density if they saw the quality that was going go into a project such as this one. This is absolutely elegant and worthy of New York. Good job.
Observe your photos that describe new progress, and I know this is not live broadcast. Delicate architecture: Thanks to Michael Young.
I am speechless. The attention to detail here is just unparalleled. I think these two are truly among the most beautiful and quality buildings in the City today. Amazing.
Wow – someone really has a fetish for the classic prewar apartment buildings! Well done in recreating the architecture of a century ago, but is that really what we should be doing? I mean, this is impeccable and gorgeous, but isn’t there something between a slavish aping of the past and the sterile glass boxes of today? Where is the new style that people actually want to live in?
It’s okay to recreate the look of historic buildings when it is done well, as in this situation. People tried updated historic design in the 80s and it sometimes worked, but often did not.
Nobody seems to be coming up with new design, and so a mix of different styled buildings is much more appropriate than just another sterile glass box. This project is truly amazing in its quality and attention to detail. More than anything, it makes you wonder why other luxury building developers are so cheap and lazy.
“Revival” is a key feature in architectural history. Nothing new under the sun here.
? Applauding- “No sterile glass box”!
I am happy to see a use of stone, but I hope the “brownstone” fares better than much of that found in the city from the 19th century. Today, this is often covered with brown cement as the stone has badly deteriorated.
Seriously impressive buildings.
Two great examples of classic New York style architecture.
Far superior to the unimaginative glass boxes that have proliferated elsewhere.
Beautiful…& people will be saying that 100 yrs. from now
why can’t all developers build with these materials and make outstanding buildings like these instead of ugly non contextual glass boxes?
Do any of you YIMBYS have an answer for me?
Because they wake up and fall asleep with the pursuit of money at the forefront of their minds instead of the pursuit of contributing to society. And no, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make a fortune off of this development, which it undoubtedly will, but this development benefits the public in ways so many thoughtless cheap towers do not. How refreshing.