303 East 33rd Street

303 East 33rd Street · Kips Bay / Murray Hill, Manhattan

303 East 33rd Street is a 12-story condominium of about 128 residences between First and Second Avenues, developed by Toll Brothers City Living and The Kibel Companies and completed in 2009.

At a glance

Type: Condominium
Built: 2009
Height: 12 stories
Residences: 128
Architect: Perkins Eastman; interiors by Studio V Architecture
Developer: Toll Brothers City Living and The Kibel Companies
Service: Full-time doorman, 24-hour concierge, live-in super
Amenities: 5,000 sq ft roof garden with grills and putting green, courtyard, fitness center, lounge, playroom, bike room, storage, garage
Pets: Case by case (owners up to two pets; large dogs need approval)

Murray Hill's first green condominium

303 East 33rd Street was developed by Toll Brothers and The Kibel Companies as a new-construction condominium on a 175-foot-wide lot on the north side of East 33rd Street. When sales launched in September 2008, Multi-Housing News called it the first green development in Murray Hill, designed to earn LEED certification. The building topped off in January 2009, with studios through three-bedroom homes from 546 to 2,782 square feet and initial prices starting at $600,000. Within months of the 2009 downturn, Curbed reported price cuts of about 10 percent on roughly a dozen units.

Perkins Eastman designed the 165,000-square-foot exterior with high-performance window walls, while Studio V Architecture designed the residences and public spaces around a sequence of gardens: a vertical green wall at the entry plaza, a stone path through an entry garden, and a lobby that looks into a hidden interior courtyard with amenity rooms spiraling around it. Archipelago landscaped the 5,000-square-foot roof terrace. Green features included high-efficiency boilers, water-source heat pumps, bamboo flooring, water-reducing fixtures, and Energy Star appliances, and the building's LEED for New Construction (v2.2) certification was announced in 2011.

The original program described 128 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, including a three-bedroom, four-bath triplex penthouse with about 1,700 square feet of outdoor space. Residences feature floor-to-ceiling windows, bamboo floors, Bosch washer-dryers, and Liebherr and Bosch kitchen appliances, according to listing descriptions.

Josh's view of 303 East 33rd Street

What you won't find on a listing portal, in Josh's own words.

Who it suits

Terrific for young professionals wanting to live in the Kips Bay/Murray Hill neighborhood. It's also ideal for physicians and hospital employees who work nearby at NYU.

Buying here

This is an exceptional tree-lined block, close to subway lines, the FDR Drive, the Midtown Tunnel, and the ferry to Brooklyn.

The best lines

The G line is a large and spacious two-bedroom. The higher floors have stunning views of the East River.

Mistakes buyers make

Living between First and Second Avenues has its benefits. This area tends to be a bit quieter than the heart of Kips Bay/Murray Hill.

What a listing won't tell you

The building lobby and roof deck are first class. There is a European feel that is difficult to describe in words!

Living at 303 East 33rd Street

The block of East 33rd Street between First and Second Avenues sits where Kips Bay meets Murray Hill, a mix of institutional and residential buildings. The north side is shared with the Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and its chapel, and the city's 2015 street tree census counted 15 living street trees in front of 301 to 345 East 33rd Street, including London planetrees, lindens, honeylocusts, and Sophoras. The I.M. Pei-designed Kips Bay Plaza towers stand across the street, and the NYU Langone medical campus lines First Avenue at the end of the block.

Subway: the 6 train at 33rd Street and Park Avenue South is about 0.4 to 0.5 miles west (walking estimate); Grand Central (4, 5, 6, 7, S, Metro-North) is farther north; the M15 Select Bus Service runs on First and Second Avenues and the M34 SBS on 34th Street
Parks: St. Vartan Park (2.76 acres, First to Second Avenues, 35th to 36th Streets) is about two blocks north, and the East River Esplanade runs along the waterfront
Roads and ferry: the Queens-Midtown Tunnel approach is about two to three blocks north, the FDR Drive ramp is at East 34th Street, and the East 34th Street ferry landing (NYC Ferry East River route to Long Island City and Brooklyn stops such as Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and DUMBO; Seastreak at East 35th Street) is about a 0.4-mile walk
Hospitals: NYU Langone's Tisch Hospital (550 First Avenue) and medical campus are at the eastern end of the block, with Bellevue Hospital a short walk south on First Avenue

Sources: NYC MapPLUTO (NYC Open Data, dataset 64uk-42ks), BBL 1009397501 · NYC ACRIS via NYC Open Data, Real Property Legals (8h5j-fqxa) block 939 condo lots joined to Real Property Master (bnx9-e6tj) DEED records · The Real Deal, New Residential Developments (Feb 2009) · ArchDaily, 303 East 33rd Street, a green project by Perkins Eastman + Studio V Architecture (2009) · Architecture List, 303 East 33rd Street by Perkins Eastman (2010) · Building Design + Construction, 303 East 33rd Street building achieves LEED-NC (Nov 2011) · Multi-Housing News, Sales Begin at Murray Hill's First Green Building (Sept 2008) · GACE Consulting Engineers, 303 East 33rd Street project page · Studio V Architecture, 303 E 33rd project page · Curbed NY, Tolls Get Trimmed on 33rd Street (Oct 2009) · 303 E. 33rd Street condominium website, Amenities · StreetEasy building page · Compass building page, 303 East 33rd Street Condominium · Compass rental listing, 303 East 33rd Street Unit 7B (pet policy field)

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