The scaffolding and black netting that have wrapped 500 East 81st Street for months are finally coming down, exposing a light gray stone façade, rounded corner windows and balconies clad in alternating precast concrete and black metal paneling. The 11-story condominium building rising at the southeast corner of York Avenue and East 81st Street in Yorkville is now visibly close to finished, with the fluted façade panels shown in renderings omitted from the finished building.
A Long-Empty Corner Gets a New Address
According to New York YIMBY, the site was formerly occupied by the Gracie Inn Hotel, a one-story laundromat, and a diner before Rybak Development purchased the property for $10.4 million in June 2023. The developer went on to secure a $26.5 million loan from Maxim Capital to finance the project, per the same outlet. Scott Miller and Rael Gervis, who are associated with Meridian Capital Group, helped broker that deal, the report notes. The tower is designed by S20M and Zproekt Architecture and developed by Rybak Development, and it now stands at a reported height of 100 feet.
The building's stated footprint has shifted across New York YIMBY's own coverage: an April report put the structure at 37,378 square feet, while an earlier account from the outlet described the same project as planned to span 29,829 square feet. The underlying lot itself measures 3,104 square feet. The building is expected to finish construction in early 2027, according to New York YIMBY's reporting.
Ten Full-Floor Homes, One Penthouse
The project includes ten condominium units, with a penthouse among them, arranged as full-floor, four-bedroom layouts. Each home is set to feature 10- to 12-foot-high ceilings, private elevator access and outdoor terraces, with interiors finished in honed marble, hand-finished hardwood and imported limestone, and kitchens outfitted with Miele and Sub-Zero appliances. An additional stack of balconies is planned for the building's northern face, and a landscaped roof deck is set to top the 11th floor.
Building amenities are slated to include a lobby, fitness center, steam room and sauna, with the steam room and sauna separated by a shower. The project also includes a parking garage and ground-floor retail space. Sales and marketing for the units are being handled by the Eklund | Gomes Team, which is affiliated with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The project carries a projected sellout of $69.4 million.
Getting There and What's Nearby
The nearest subway access is the Q train at the 86th Street station, located at the corner of Second Avenue and East 83rd Street. Yorkville's condo boom has plenty of company these days — a few blocks north, closings have begun at The Strathmore, a Related Companies rental-to-sales conversion, according to a report from CityRealty. Nearby, 255 East 77th Street is nearing completion.
