Be neighbors with The Frick at this lavish, light-splashed co-op — boasting panoramic views of Central Park and Midtown’s skyline.
A white brick apartment house on the Upper East Side seems an unlikely product for Sylvan Bien, who emigrated from Austria to assist in designing the ephemerally flamboyant Byzantine structures of San Francisco’s 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and subsequently served stints with Warren & Wetmore and the Michelangelo of Manhattan architects, Emory Roth. Yet the unimposing edifice at 900 Fifth Avenue typifies the commissions that defined the latter chapter of his career, a flex of restraint as the dexterous Carlyle Hotel architect adapted his Beaux-Arts proclivities for the postwar milieu.
Apartment 5A is a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath residence on the building’s fifth floor, a remarkable opportunity to claim a premier co-op in this modernist landmark. With proportions akin to the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel apartment, right down to the spacious eat-in kitchen with banquette, this corner unit can only be described as meticulous, and it’s evident the moment you arrive. A semi-private landing makes for a discreet entrance, revealing a grand foyer thoughtfully outfitted with an oversized walk-in closet and adjacent coat cubby for optimal outerwear-stowage. There’s also a deeded storage unit just outside the door, included in the sale.
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Views run in no short supply, cast in three directions over Central Park and, looking south, a picture-perfect framing of The Frick Collection, housed in the Carrère and Hastings manse of its eponymous patron. A total of 19 windows welcome dual exposures, with the living room, spanned in its entirety by one of the signature bays projecting in two columns from the building’s front elevation — a distinguishing feature that helps weave its texture with its neighboring predecessors.
The apartment’s primary and secondary suites straddle both sides of this space, sharing its westward vistas while the third bedroom faces East 71st Street. The former features a dressing area with dual walk-in closets and an additional locked one, along with a sprawling marble-clad bath with walls of Venetian plaster. Behind the modern eat-in kitchen with banquette also lies a staff room, outfitted with a full bathroom, storage, and a washer and dryer.
It’s all rounded out by the building’s bevy of amenities, which include a gym, two furnished roof decks, and a bike room with rental helmets, locks, and share bikes free for resident use.
The Yalof/Sahlman Team has the listing.