Demolition is progressing at 500-502 East 81st Street, the site of a forthcoming ten-story residential building in the Yorkville section of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Designed by Zproekt Architecture and developed by Rybak Development, the 100-foot-tall structure will yield 29,829 square feet of residential space with an undisclosed number of units, likely to be condominiums based on the design firm’s history in the neighborhood. The building will also have a cellar level and three enclosed parking spaces. The property is located at the corner of York Avenue and East 81st Street.
Recent photographs taken across York Avenue show the low-rise occupants of the plot being razed behind a veil of scaffolding and black netting. Portions of the upper floors have already been dismantled, and demolition will likely wrap up sometime this summer.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
The below Google Street View image shows the site conditions prior to the start of work. Among the buildings coming down are a former bed and breakfast called the Gracie Inn Hotel, a one-story laundromat, and a local diner at the northern corner. The developer purchased the lots for $10.4 million in June 2023.
Image via Google Maps
Finalized renderings of the upcoming project have yet to be released, though its ten-story height will have a modest presence on the surrounding streets.
The nearest subway from the property is the Q train at the 86th Street station at the corner of Second Avenue and East 83rd Street.
A construction timeline for the building has not been disclosed.
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The design firm’s history must be spread out more than before, this might be a new neighborhood: Thanks.
Three enclosed parking spaces! Why was this allowed when the historic building clearly had no curb-cut.
Yorkville will soon be only post-war buildings.
what was so historical about the old building?
The new building will not even be an improvement from an urbanity standpoint
yes it is. It is more energy efficient and piping gets better. There was nothing to lament about here. Old buildings don’t mean they’re historical
I think the prewar buildings that are 6+ stories will stick around, such as Gracie Gardens or 33 East End Ave
you seem to lament the demolition of every single (ugly) old building in NYC
This building is not ugly, and I don’t lament the loss of every building just for being old.
However, it is a shame when the new building is ugly or there’s a loss in urbanity. Such as this case, where they’ll be adding storage for people’s polluting vehicles and turning the sidewalk into an active driveway.