Façade installation is moving along on 288 East 88th Street, a 24-story residential building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Designed by Hill West Architects and co-developed by Alchemy-ABR and Azur in partnership with Carlyle Group, the 350-foot-tall structure will span 96,543 square feet and yield 45 rental units with an average scope of 1,842 square feet. The project will also include 2,507 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a cellar level. The property is alternately addressed as 1695 Second Avenue and located at the corner of Second Avenue and East 88th Street.
The entire reinforced concrete superstructure was constructed since our last update at the end of November, when foundations were still progressing below street level. Crews are now laying the earth-toned brick façade from hanging platforms around the midpoint of the structure, which topped out in May. Meanwhile, window installation is progressing on the podium levels, with blue film covering the floor-to-ceiling glass in place within the expansive grid. Metal studs and yellow insulation boards surround these windows, as well as the voids on the upper levels of the tower. The hoist is attached to the eastern face along Second Avenue to aid in the interior build-out.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
288 East 88th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The site was formerly occupied by a five-story mixed-use building, as seen in the following Google Street View image before its demolition.
1695 2nd Avenue via Google Maps
The rendering in the main photo shows the northeast corner of the tower enclosed in double-height windows framed by light gray columns and black horizontal spandrels. After setbacks at the seventh and ninth stories, the structure rises uninterrupted to the 22nd floor, where a series of stepped setbacks lead to a multifaceted pinnacle topped with a bulkhead. Some sections of these upper levels feature pocketed terraces within the uniform fenestration.
The financial team behind 288 East 88th Street includes lenders Affinius Capital and Bank OZK, and Walker Dunlop.
Amenities will include a fitness center, a multipurpose sports court, a children’s playroom, a media/gaming room, a coworking space, and a rooftop terrace.
The nearest subway from the site is the Q train at the 86th Street station.
288 East 88th Street’s anticipated completion date is slated for October 2026, as noted on site.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
Q train vital to lesser heeled residents.
Compared to the characterful and varied design and terra-cotta decorations, and the marvelous, honey-colored bricks of the original building, this is, to say the least, uninspiring.