Exterior work is moving along on 500 East 81st Street, an 11-story residential building in the Yorkville section of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Designed by S20M and Zproekt Architecture and developed by Rybak Development, the 100-foot-tall structure will span 37,378 square feet and yield ten condominium units. The project will also include a parking garage and ground-floor retail space. The 3,104-square-foot property is located at the southeast corner of York Avenue and East 81st Street.
The reinforced concrete superstructure was completed since our last update in early October, when crews were in the process of building the rooftop bulkhead. The structure now stands fully shrouded in scaffolding and black netting as crews work to install the grid of windows within a framework of metal studs. The fenestration is furthest along on the slender western elevation, and numerous windows are also visible on the main northern face. Yellow insulation boards cover the mostly blank southern lot line wall.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
500 East 81st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The renderings in the main photo and below show the façade composed of smooth and fluted stone paneling surrounding floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors leading to multiple stacks of balconies. Curved windows will line the corners, matching the rounded geometry of the balconies, cornice, and bulkhead. A landscaped roof deck will sit atop the 11th floor.
500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
The Eklund | Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate is handling sales and marketing for the units, which will come in full-floor, four-bedroom layouts, as well as a penthouse. Homes will feature 10- to 12-foot high ceilings, private elevator access, outdoor terraces, honed marble, hand-finished hardwood, Miele and Sub-Zero appliances, and imported limestone. 500 East 81st Street has a projected sellout of $69.4 million.
A living room. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
A den. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
An open kitchen. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
A bedroom. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
A bathroom. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
A powder room. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
Private elevator access. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
The following renderings preview the penthouse and its private rooftop terrace.
The penthouse. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
The private penthouse terrace. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
Below are renderings of the amenities which will include a fitness center and a steam room and sauna separated by a shower.
The lobby at 500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
The fitness center at 500 East 81st Street. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
The spa amenities. Rendering courtesy of Rybak Development.
The site was formerly occupied by the Gracie Inn Hotel, a one-story laundromat, and a diner, as seen in the below Google Street View images from before the start of demolition. Rybak Development purchased the property for $10.4 million in June 2023, and subsequently secured a $26.5 million loan from Maxim Capital. Scott Miller & Rael Gervis of The Meridian Capital Group helped broker the deal.
Image via Google Maps
502 East 81st Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan via Google Maps
The nearest subway from the ground-up development is the Q train at the 86th Street station at the corner of Second Avenue and East 83rd Street.
500 East 81st Street’s anticipated completion date is slated the third quarter of 2026, as noted on the developer’s website.
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Very elegant.
Great looking building – lot of nice details both inside and outside.
Real progress for the location and neighborhood
A handsome building!
What an absolutely lovely little building. Developers take note (they wont) but what a difference quality materiality and attention to detail/scale makes. Everyone involved in this should be proud.
What an absolutely lovely little building. Developers take note (they wont) but what a difference quality materiality and attention to detail/scale makes. Everyone involved in this should be proud!
felt so strongly I had to say it twice apparently
I couldn’t agree more…it’ll be a magnificent place to reside in
Gorgeous inside and out. If I had the money, this is the type of building I would want to live in! Fantastic interior renders.
Understand this: transit access brings developer investments like this beauty. Now think of the extension up 2nd Avenue across 125th…do you think subway investment is for the existing uses above 96th Street. Not on your life; bulldozers are coming and new developments will be coming. It’ll be gentrification to the Mac, and if you can’t afford to live in the new landscape, move out to more affordable housing.
Where that’ll be, who knows. But I know this: in the next 30-50 years the UES will be transformed.
A small neighborhood beauty!
This building is likely to be a real gem. The proportions are amazingly slender, the design is elegant, modern and gallant. This makes me wish there would be less pencil sized supertalls and far more 8-12 story projects.
I wholly agree! This building’s uniqueness alone will make it highly desireable.
As I said yesterday, but for some reason, it didn’t show up. Obviously the height of the building and door, the amount of floors and door. The height of the floors is an impossibility. Please check the information before writing these articles.