15 W 63rd St

The Park Laurel

Situated on West 63rd Street, the Park Laurel has afforded the luxury of direct Central Park views thanks to its positioning east of the monolithic, angled apartment building at 25 West 63rd Street (also known as 1 Lincoln Plaza). From a distance, the neighboring giant on Broadway seems to almost wrap around 15 West 63rd Street. “You get perspective from a bit further back,” says Bonnie Lindenbaum, Realtor at Coldwell Banker, who sold multiple units in the building over the years. “You can see the people walking on Central Park West.” Featuring a pyramid-like crown, the handsome brick condominium was designed by New York-based architectural planner Beyer Blinder Belle and Greek American architect Costas Kondylis (a frequent collaborator with Trump known as “the developer’s architect,” who has designed many high-rise residential towers on the Manhattan skyline) in 1999. Residing on the site of the former McBurney School (a boy's college preparatory run by the YMCA of Greater New York from 1916 through 1988), the Park Laurel is placed on top of the offices and fitness center of the Westside YMCA, which occupies floors one through fourteen. To build the condominium, air rights were developed to build higher floors and rehabilitate the legendary community facility, preserving the exterior architecture of the former McBurney School and creating 67 affordable housing units. “It is a relatively small condominium first because the YMCA owns the first 14 floors,” says Lindenbaum. “Because of that, it has a warmer, more intimate atmosphere with 51 apartments on just 26 floors.” Even though the building dates back to 1999 (a time when people did more cooking than ordering Uber Eats), it feels starkly contemporary. The floor plans allocate more square footage to the living and bedrooms, opting for smaller kitchens and ample closet space. “This is quintessential New York living,” says Lindenbaum. “People don’t live in formal dining rooms. They don’t cook as much anymore. It’s almost like the floorplans here were made for now.” Conversely, new-build condominiums on the Upper West Side are outfitted with similar skinny, galley-style kitchens, but are accompanied by comparatively much smaller bathrooms. (At The Westly, a typical large primary bedroom is 16 feet. At Park Laurel, a typical primary bedroom is 19 by 20 feet.) “These kinds of living spaces don’t exist in new buildings." Park Laurel comprises just 51 units — two-, three- and four-bedrooms — across the top 26 stories of the 40-floor building. With no more than four residences on lower levels and fewer units the higher the floor, the uppermost levels are occupied by pairs of penthouse duplexes. A 1,490-square-foot one-bedroom on the 12th floor with a 12.4’ by 20’ living room sold for $2.3 million in January 2024. Similarly, a 2,075-square-foot three-bedroom on the 17th floor with direct Central Park views sold for $4.2 million in May 2024. Meanwhile, a 2,909-square-foot four-bedroom on the 24th floor with a 29-foot salon-like entry gallery sold for $8.9 million in March 2022. The grandest of listings, a 7,758-square-foot penthouse duplex on the 29th and 30th floors with a 1,244-square-foot terrace and a grand spiral staircase connecting both floors sold for $31 million in February 2008. “There is a doorman who actually opens the door when you walk in,” says Lindenbaum. (Unlike most new condominium buildings, where the door attendant is placed behind the desk in the lobby with no staff serving the entrance.) Additionally, “there are two concierges behind the desk in the lobby, who assist with things like package delivery, dry cleaning and the occasional dinner reservation.” Just off the lobby, residents have access to the bike room. Plus, there’s a community laundry room with an industrial-grade washer/dryer (ideal for bulky items like a down comforter) and a children’s playroom jam-packed with toys and games on the lower level. According to Lindenbaum, residents can find a “full-sized, state-of-the-art gym” on the same subterranean floor with the latest cardio machines and weight training equipment. Central Park West is known for its stately co-ops and condos that line the streets dotted with mature American Elm trees (some over a century old). Unlike most UWS enclaves, this one is quiet because it is almost entirely residential. One can see uniformed schoolchildren, cool dads with Comme Des Garcons Converse and dog walkers strolling down the sidewalk. These folks can be found moving between the numbered legendary neighborhood spots, like Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Zabar’s and The Dakota. Of course, tourists and New Yorkers from other neighborhoods continue to visit the American Museum of Natural History, The Shops at Columbus Circle and John Lennon’s memorial at Strawberry Fields. Meanwhile, there are Upper West Side dining institutions that need no introduction, including the likes of Jean-Georges, Kappo Masa and Tavern On The Green. For groceries, residents can pop by the neighborhood markets, including Whole Foods, Fairway and Target. Columbus Circle, the major transportation hub, is just a quarter-mile walk from Park Laurel. 59th Street-Columbus Circle station services the A, B, C, D and 1 trains. Additionally, a Citi Bike docking station is located nearby on 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue.