188 East 78th Street, 31-B

Every so often an outlier or unicorn becomes available on the Upper East Side. In this case it is an extraordinary 6 room (2,601 SF) apartment on the 31st floor of the Empire Condominium on East 78th Street. It comes with its own parking space and storage unit. Imagine NEVER having to worry about parking again and there is no monthly fee. Besides three bedrooms and three baths ensuite, 31B has an elegant entrance foyer, large living room with a working gas fire place and a separate dining room. Two balconies at opposite ends of the apartment have been lighted and fashioned into Zen Gardens. All ceilings are 10 feet high. The apartment has been impeccably renovated and decorated throughout, with custom moldings and cases. Long sweeping views through oversized windows, Central Park clear over to New Jersey to the West, the George Washington Bridge and upper Manhattan to the North with a limestone steeple in the foreground, all the way to La Guardia on the East with a sliver of the river and the full panoply of all the midtown skyscrapers to the south, makes an aerie, away from the noise and high above the vicissitudes of the city. A magnificent one-of-a-kind Dale Chihuly 105-piece sculpture hangs from the ceiling in the dining room, reflecting the light from the windows off its many facets, and where 10 guests can be seated comfortably. Both the living room and dining room have doors that open on to the Zen Garden. The full sized, windowed, eat-in kitchen was completely renovated six months ago with top of the line appliances, Miele dishwasher, Thermadoor 48In.. refrigerator, Miele oven and cooktop, Maytag microwave, Ceasar stone counters and custom melamine cabinets, creating a sleek chef's delight. The master suite with the best views of all has two walk-in closets, one of which is enormous with its own window. Both closets are completely fitted out. The bedroom itself is large enough for a king-sized bed and a separate sitting area. The entrance to one of the Zen gardens is through a door in the bedroom. The marble bath ensuite has double sinks, 2 medicine cabinets, a Toto top-of- the- line toilet, a large stall shower with double heads and double doors, and great linen storage. The other two bedrooms are spacious and bright with good closets and baths ensuite. One is currently being used as an office and the other as a proper bedroom with remarkable shelves for books and art. 31B would not be complete without a powder room, vented washer/dryer, and a large fitted front hall closet - and it has them all. Air conditioning is central with a zone for every room. (All HVAC units have been replaced within the last year.) If the parking space and storage unit were to be sold separately they would be worth approximately $400,000. Here they are included in the price. 188 East 78th Street is a full service, white glove building with a resident manager, concierge and 24/7 doormen. The amenities have been recently upgraded and include a state of the art athletic center, a common lounge and dining room, suitable for both entertaining and dining, with a catering kitchen and an adjacent outside terrace. In addition there are two other outdoor common spaces, one beautifully planted with a pergola, and the other a courtyard surrounding a fountain. Other amenities include a central laundry, children's playroom, and the garage, in which the private parking space is located, and to which the entrance is directly from the lobby. The building is centrally located to all mass transportation, both uptown and downtown local and express buses, and the #6 train. It is in the midst of the 70's which is arguably the nicest area of all of the Upper East Side with shops and restaurants just blocks away, and very proximate to Museum Mile and the other cultural institutions for which the area is famous. All furniture with the exception of a few pieces is included in the sale.