The Carlton House
21 East 61st Street (680 Madison Avenue) · Lenox Hill, Upper East Side, Manhattan
The Carlton House fills the west side of Madison Avenue between East 61st and 62nd Streets, a 1951 neo-Georgian hotel that Extell Development converted into 68 cooperative residences above a block-long retail condominium. The residential entrance is at 21 East 61st Street, half a block from Fifth Avenue and Central Park.
At a glance
- Type
- Condop: cooperative apartments (stock co-op with condo-style rules) above a separate retail condominium, on leased land
- Built
- 1950-51 as the Carlton House residential hotel; converted to residences 2011-14 (Extell lists completion as 2015)
- Height
- 17 stories in city records, including a two-story rooftop addition from the conversion
- Residences
- 68, including a duplex penthouse and a five-story townhouse
- Developer
- Original: the Astor Estate (operated by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company). Conversion: Extell Development with Angelo, Gordon & Co.
- Architect
- Kenneth B. Norton (1951); Beyer Blinder Belle (conversion), with interiors by Katherine Newman Design
- Service
- 24-hour doorman and concierge, live-in resident manager, lifestyle concierge service
- Amenities
- 65-foot heated indoor pool trimmed in Indiana limestone, fitness center, steam rooms, treatment rooms, game room and residents' lounge with billiards, children's playroom, bike room, storage, cold storage
- Pets
- Allowed
- Policies
- Pied-a-terre and subletting allowed (subletting subject to board conditions); no flip tax; 20% minimum down payment
- Landmark status
- Within the Upper East Side Historic District (not an individual landmark)
A Ritz-Carlton hotel reborn as a Madison Avenue co-op
The Carlton House took its name from the residential wing of the Ritz-Carlton hotel at Madison Avenue and 46th Street, which was torn down in 1950 and 1951. In January 1950 The New York Times reported that the Astor Estate would replace it with a fifteen-story and penthouse hotel-service apartment building on Madison Avenue between 61st and 62nd Streets, run by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. When it opened in the spring of 1951, The New Yorker counted 165 apartments behind a red brick and limestone facade, with lobby fixtures salvaged from the old Ritz. Residents over the years included Carlotta O'Neill, widow of playwright Eugene O'Neill, and General Lucius D. Clay. Harry Helmsley and Lawrence Wien bought the building in 1964 and renamed it the Helmsley Carlton House, and from 1985 Pierre Cardin's Maxim's, a near replica of the Paris original, filled its lower floors.
The architect, Kenneth B. Norton, gave the building a neo-Georgian design: a three-story limestone base with fluted pilasters, urns, and wreaths, a brown brick tower above, and faceted corners wrapped in grouped casement windows so that nearly every suite had corner rooms. Some accounts say Norton drew the design in 1940 and the war delayed construction, though the Daytonian in Manhattan history notes that the Ritz-Carlton's demolition was still a decade away in 1940. The building sits in the Upper East Side Historic District, so every later change to its facade has needed Landmarks Preservation Commission approval.
In 2010 the Helmsley estate sold the building to Extell Development and Angelo, Gordon & Co. for about $170 million. The commission approved Beyer Blinder Belle's conversion plan in July 2011: a gut renovation, a restored facade, a two-story rooftop addition, and a new five-story limestone townhouse on 61st Street that holds the residential lobby. Gary Barnett told The New York Times the roughly $350 million conversion cost more than tearing the building down and starting over. Extell sold the block-long retail space to Thor Equities for $277 million in January 2013, and sales of the 68 co-op residences opened that April at $2.9 million to $65 million. The retail and residential portions sit on a ground lease that runs to 2169.
Josh's view of The Carlton House
What you won't find on a listing portal, in Josh's own words.
Who it suits
For buyers looking for one of the best locations in Manhattan, it's hard to beat this address. Just steps from Fifth Avenue and Central Park, you have some of New York City's finest shopping, restaurants, and cultural attractions right outside your door. Whether you plan to live here full-time or use it as a pied-a-terre, owning a home in this condop is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy everything that makes Manhattan so special.
Buying here
For a boutique building in Lenox Hill, this property offers tremendous value and an impressive collection of amenities. Residents enjoy a 65-foot heated indoor swimming pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center, game room, steam room, and much more. It's rare to find this level of amenities in a building of this size. Whether you're looking for a place to call home or an investment property, this building is worth serious consideration. The convenient location at the edge of Midtown is also a major advantage for investors, with strong appeal to renters who want easy access to everything Manhattan has to offer.
The best lines
The C and F lines are particularly impressive, offering beautiful layouts and wonderful natural light. That said, all of the apartments have something special to offer, with bright, inviting living spaces throughout. You really can't go wrong. It simply comes down to which layout and residence best fit your lifestyle.
Mistakes buyers make
This edge of Midtown can certainly be busy, but that's also part of what makes it such an exciting place to live. The neighborhood has fantastic restaurants, including Serafina right across Madison Avenue, along with great shopping and plenty of grocery stores nearby. With easy access to the subway and a convenient commute to work, just about everything you need is within reach. If you enjoy the energy of Manhattan and the convenience of having everything at your doorstep, this is a terrific location to call home.
What a listing won't tell you
The location is hard to beat. You can walk out of your building and be just a few blocks from the famous Plaza Hotel, with Central Park and Fifth Avenue right nearby. There's something really special about living in this part of Manhattan. It has a charm and elegance that never gets old, and it's the kind of location that will always be in demand.
Inside The Carlton House
The neighborhood: The Pierre rising over the Pond in Central Park, a short walk west.
Living at The Carlton House
The building holds the Madison Avenue blockfront between 61st and 62nd Streets at the southern edge of Lenox Hill, where the Upper East Side meets the Plaza District. Its own ground floor is a run of luxury boutiques, Central Park and The Pierre are half a block west on Fifth Avenue, and the Plaza Hotel and Grand Army Plaza are about a quarter mile southwest. Serafina Always is across Madison Avenue at 33 East 61st Street.
- Subway: N, R, and W at 5 Av/59 St, about 0.2 mile; 4, 5, and 6 at 59 St and N, R, and W at Lexington Av/59 St, about 0.3 mile; M and Q at Lexington Av/63 St, about 0.3 mile; M1, M2, M3, and M4 buses north on Madison Avenue and south on Fifth Avenue
- Parks: Central Park across Fifth Avenue, half a block west, with the Pond and the Central Park Zoo (Fifth Avenue at 64th Street) a few minutes' walk away; Grand Army Plaza at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street about a quarter mile south
- Hospitals and landmarks: Lenox Hill Hospital (100 East 77th Street) and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center (525 East 68th Street) each about a mile away; The Pierre, the Plaza Hotel, and the Frick Collection (1 East 70th Street) nearby
- Shopping and dining: Madison Avenue's flagship boutiques at the door, Bloomingdale's at Lexington Avenue and 59th Street about 0.4 mile east, Serafina Always and La Goulue across Madison Avenue, and the nearest full supermarket, Morton Williams at Third Avenue and 63rd Street, about half a mile east
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Open the tool →Sources: NYC PLUTO (NYC Open Data), 680 Madison Avenue, BBL 1013760015 · NYC Department of Finance Annualized Sales (NYC Open Data), Manhattan Block 1376 Lot 15 · NYC Department of Finance Rolling Sales (NYC Open Data), Manhattan Block 1376 Lot 15 · Daytonian in Manhattan, 'The 1951 Carlton House - 680 Madison Avenue (21 East 61st)' (July 13, 2024) · The New Yorker, 'For Rent' (April 1951) · Commercial Observer, 'From the Vault: 680 Madison Avenue' (February 3, 2014) · Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, 680 Madison Avenue (K. B. Norton, 1950-51) · The Real Deal, 'Carlton House to get two more stories, townhouse addition' (July 19, 2011) · The Real Deal, 'Barnett sells Sitt Carlton House retail for $277M' (January 2, 2013) · The Real Deal, Carlton House at 21 East 61st Street (July 10, 2014) · Observer, 'The Carlton House: When You Want Extell, But Don't Want to Pay One57 Prices' (April 9, 2013) · New York Post, 'Floored: Inside the Carlton House' (June 10, 2014) · ABS Partners, '680 Madison Ave Ground Lease Trades at a Discount' · Extell Development, The Carlton House · GACE Consulting Engineers, Carlton House · Manhattan Community Board 8, Landmarks Committee agenda (June 13, 2011) · CityRealty, Carlton House, 21 East 61st Street · Corcoran Inhabit, 'Five-Star Living in a Reimagined Hotel on the Upper East Side' (February 4, 2019) · Corcoran, The Carlton House building page · Compass, The Carlton House building page (building policies) · The Roebling Team, The Carlton House building guide and sales history · Douglas Elliman, 21 East 61st Street 8E listing (amenities) · Brown Harris Stevens, 21 East 61st Street 7A listing (amenities, staff) · Compass, 21 East 61st Street 7F listing (corner three-bedroom, exposures) · Serafina Always 61st (33 East 61st Street) · OpenTable, Serafina Always (cross street: between Park and Madison Avenues) · Morton Williams, store locations · MTA Subway Stations (data.ny.gov), station locations and routes · OpenStreetMap Nominatim (geocoding for distances)
Photos: Photo by Yarl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Photo by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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