555 West End Avenue: A Palatial Combination Penthouse Hits the Market

With abundant light and square footage, the penthouse of 555 West End Avenue is a unique newly constructed offering within a landmarked building. This residence is a combination of the Upper West Side school conversion’s two crowning penthouses into one palatial duplex with a suite of entertaining spaces on the top level and a full floor of private bedrooms below. 

“This penthouse is unlike any other, combining two architecturally special residences with beautiful terraces and gracious, interesting interiors into one perfect home with views, light, and usable outdoor spaces—exactly what today’s luxury buyer is looking for but can’t find,” said Alexa Lambert of Compass Development, who is handling sales along with Cathy Taub of Sotheby’s International Realty. “This one-of-a-kind home is also the crown jewel of 555 West End Avenue, a remarkably rare prewar condominium that marries the elegance and scale of a landmarked mansion with the contemporary interiors and brand-new everything of a new development.”

The seventh-floor great room, in the school’s former gymnasium, has 22-foot barrel-vaulted ceilings and a wall of arched glass with French doors that open onto a south-facing terrace. The adjoining kitchen features white fumed oak cabinetry by Christopher Peacock and Arabescato slab marble counters and backsplashes. This floor also gives way to the home’s six en suite bedrooms, including its corner primary suite with two walk-in closets and a five-piece bathroom with custom cabinetry and Calacatta Gold marble slabs. A private pet spa and a laundry room with two washers and two dryers are also on this floor.

The eighth floor is laid out for entertaining, with an enfilade of the living room, dining room, and library bisected only by a dual-sided, marble-clad gas fireplace. A wraparound terrace is accessible from nearly every room on this floor, save for the large second kitchen and the media room that looks west over the city through casement windows. A 1,520-square-foot roof terrace reached by a winding staircase from the wraparound terrace tops the duplex, with open city and Hudson River views.

The Neighborhood:

The Upper West Side is known as the destination for intellectuals and artists of all stripes, in no small part owing to the area’s abundance of academic and cultural establishments. The neighborhood spans from 59th Street to 110th Street and from Central Park West to the Hudson River. Within those blocks are some of the city’s most revered institutions, like Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts—home to the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet—and the Juilliard School, as well as the American Museum of Natural History. The neighborhood is bustling by day but quiet at night, with tree-lined streets and a stock of resplendent prewar buildings that lend this classic enclave a romantic character seen in films like West Side Story and You’ve Got Mail.

Amenities: 

Nestled inside the landmarked exterior of the former St. Agnes Boys High School, this boutique 12-residence condominium has traditional yet desired amenities like a 24/7 doorman, refrigerated delivery storage, a bicycle room, and a stroller valet. Every residence comes with additional private storage in the building too. A gym and a recreation room with a wet bar are also open to residents.