Landmarks OKs proposed rooftop addition at UWS rental

Approval contrasts with brouhaha over Apthorp plans earlier this year

498 West End Avenue
498 West End Avenue

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a 4,000-square-foot addition to 498 West End Avenue, a rental building on the Upper West Side.

The plans call for a reconfigured front entrance and rooftop addition, building out a single-floor appendage on the roof and adding a second floor on top of that. The revamp will also add a new cornice to the building, and the current front stairs will be removed. The LPC commissioners waived through the proposal, with comments ranging from “no problem” to “great proposal,” according to Curbed.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The favorable ruling was unanimous, a stark departure from the reaction to the nearby Apthorp’s bid to add four penthouse condominiums to the landmarked building’s roof at 390 West End Avenue earlier this year. The plan called for building duplex and triplex apartments, priced at $2,200 to $3,300 a square foot, to existing units on the 12th floor of the historic property at 390 West End Avenue. Some local officials and residents of the 105-year-old building raised concerns about the impact of the plan on the views and the structural integrity, and the potential for disruption to current inhabitants. [Curbed] Julie Strickland