220 Riverside Blvd

Trump Place 220

“People choose to live here because of the lifestyle that comes with being close to the river,” says Ilene Rosmarin, real estate agent at Douglas Elliman. Because of the building’s prime location between West 70th and West 71st Streets along Riverside Boulevard, it affords genuinely picturesque views of the Hudson River, greater New Jersey and Manhattan. “The apartments were designed with floor-to-ceiling windows that, from inside, look as if you’re right next to the river,” says Rosmarin, who has sold multiple units in the building. She says that residents of 220 Riverside Boulevard tend to be “regulars” in Riverside Park: they ride their bikes along the Hudson River Greenway trail, go for walks along the pier and sunbathe in the grass at Riverside Park. For those who prefer a bit more stillness (at least in New York City terms) and are willing to take a bit longer walk from the subway, there is something to be said about living in a quiet waterfront neighborhood. 220 Riverside Boulevard was completed in 2003 as the tallest of six towers in Donald Trump’s major waterfront development on Riverside Boulevard, Trump Place. The 542-foot-tall tower, designed by Costas Kondylis & Associates in 2003, is clad in orange brick and features three setbacks and a circular glass crown that illuminates by night. As the story goes, the developer and former president procured a muddied tract of derelict rail yards along the Hudson River in 1985. On this pocket of the Upper West Side, he initially fantasized about building an entire complex called “Trump City.” Eventually, a curtailed version of the developer’s waterfront complex, Trump Place, was realized between West 72nd and West 59th Streets. He developed six residential towers with the word “Trump” ostentatiously affixed on the facades in his signature serif gold font. 180, 160 and 140 Riverside Boulevard are rental buildings owned by Equity Residential, while the three others, 120, 200 and 220, are condominiums. These properties contracted initially with the Trump Organization to use the Trump name. Then, in 2016, just three weeks before he took office, the rental towers and the condominium 200 Riverside Boulevard nixed the name, citing that the contract to use his title had simply expired. (Though this decision was widely acknowledged to be because of his new presidential role and the political unrest that ensued.) In fear of litigation, 200 and 220 Riverside Boulevard held out for years and then finally followed suit later in 2019. In its place, the naming convention used the condominiums’ addresses, 200 and 220 Riverside Boulevard, as their official denomination. “What is nice about this building is the extra square footage,” says Rosmarin. “When you compare floorplans here to newer developments, you see they are more spacious and have great closet space,” Rosmarin says the new buildings along the Hudson River waterfront tend to be smaller because they were value-engineered to have more units. “Buyers like older developments like this because they offer better value.” (Meanwhile, the building is still new enough to have central heating and air-conditioning, ruling out the need for those pesky window cooling units.) 220 Riverside Boulevard, the largest tower of six towers in Trump Place, comprises 430 residences across 48 stories, ranging from studios to five-bedrooms, including combined units. A modest listing, a 580-square-foot studio on the 15th floor with the original interior design (herringbone hardwood flooring and cherry wood kitchen cabinetry) sold for $780,000 in March 2023. Similarly, a 923-square-foot one-bedroom on the 10th floor with a 29-foot-long living room sold for $1.2 million in August 2024. Meanwhile, a 1,456-square-foot gut-renovated two-bedroom on the 8th floor with new Bertazonni appliances sold for $2.8 million in December 2023. Likewise, a 1,915-square-foot three-bedroom corner unit on the 42nd floor with a dining room featuring floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Hudson River sold for $3.1 million in July 2024. One of the grandest listings, a 4,000-square-foot four-bedroom penthouse with a private elevator and an entire primary bedroom wing with a walk-in closet big enough to be a bedroom, sold for $14.9 million in August 2015. 220 Riverside Boulevard is a full-service luxury condominium with a 24-hour door attendant, a concierge, full-time porters and a live-in resident manager. “When you walk in, a doorman actually opens the door for you,” says Rosmarin, referring to how most new condo buildings have just one door attendant behind a desk in the lobby. “This is a white glove service building with multiple lobby staff that will always greet you with a smile.” Besides the “outstanding service,” the building offers a suite of amenities on the ground floor. In a wing just off the lobby, residents can find a wood-paneled library with plush seating, a billiards room with a soaring 10-foot-tall ceiling and a children’s playroom chock-full of toys and games. The expansive health club features a studio with up-to-date cardio machines and weight training equipment, which overlooks a lap pool and lounge area separated by a glass window wall. Outside the pool area is a massive, landscaped courtyard with a sweeping waterfall fountain and bistro table and chairs. Plus, there is a third-party parking garage, rentable personal storage and a bike room. This locale is defined by its proximity to the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts, New York City’s premiere destination for classic cultural entertainment: music, theater, dance, film and opera (and New York Public Library’s special building dedicated to a collection exclusively about the performing arts). People move here to be near it and other iconic Upper West Side institutions, including The Juilliard School, Fordham University, Westside YMCA and the American Art Folk Museum. A 15-minute walk south, residents can find Deutsche Bank Center (formerly known as Time Warner Center), which houses The Shops at Columbus Circle, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Jazz at Lincoln Center and a giant Whole Foods, which occupies the entire basement. Outdoorsy types are just across the street from Riverside Park, beloved by Upper West Siders for its monuments, including the Hudson River Kayak Launch, Beach Volleyball Courts and Big River Playground. And four long avenue blocks east (about three-quarters of a mile) is Central Park, with its legendary westside green spaces, including Strawberry Fields and the Sheep Meadow. Closer to home, denizens can walk 10 minutes in any direction to one of the neighborhood’s grocery stores, including Fairway Market, Jubilee Marketplace and Gourmet Garage. Residents have the luxury of being only two blocks west of 72 Street station, which services the 1, 2 and 3 trains. (Buildings along Riverside Boulevard south of 70th Street are much further from a subway station. Even better, the aforementioned station has the 3 express train.) Meanwhile, via car service or personal vehicle, the West Side Highway and the 66th Street Transverse are easily accessible.