Other · New York

Sofia

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedRetrofit builtNew York City, NY

Completed 1984 condo conversion of former garage/warehouse; retrofit already built, median rent $2,132, peer projects nearby. · summary, model-written

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Site profile8 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place

3+ other atlas sites within 10 km

This site: 25 within 10 km computed · all sites with this

County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012

This site: -21% census-cbp · all sites with this

County permitting 2,000+ apartment units a year

This site: 4,463 units, New York County census-bps · all sites with this

County typical rent $2,000+

This site: $4,779/mo zillow · all sites with this

Shrinking county

This site: -0.3% census-acs · all sites with this

Strategy

Reinhabited

This site: …residential and commercial condominium record · all sites with this

New use

Housing

This site: …residential and commercial condominium Approved by New York City Landma newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Office

This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Retrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported
Strategy	ReinhabitedWikipedia no source
New uses	housing, officeWikipedia no source
What is there now	residential and commercial condominiumnewtypes-extraction reported
Retrofit year	1984newtypes-extraction reported
Redeveloper	Aaron Green and Growth Realty Companiesnewtypes-extraction reported

Planning

Entitlement year	1983Wikipedia no source
Planning notes	Approved by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).Wikipedia no source

Deals and debt

Date	Event	Price	Parties	Source
1983	Sold	$9.3M closed	Aaron Green and Growth Realty Companies	Wikipedia

Site context

Housing permits, New York County (NY), 2024	4,463 units in 5+ unit buildings, 4 in 2–4, 0 single-family; 2023: 3,018 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby	25 within 10 km, 40 within 25 km: Lincoln Arcade (0.4 km); CBS Studio Building (1.5 km); 330 West 42nd Street (1.6 km); 5 Times Square (1.7 km); 100 West 33rd Street (2.4 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	123,585 jobs in 9,169 establishments; average annual pay $79,593; employment location quotient 0.50; employment +1.2% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	7,637 jobs; 1,515 in retail trade, 1,515 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 36061014500)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 42th income percentile as adults; 1.3% incarcerated at the 2010 count (138 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 7.0%; median family income $250,001; 79 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	New York City Department Of Education (PK-12); 35 public schools within 1 mile: HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES; JACQUELINE KENNEDY-ONASSIS HIGH SCHOOL; REPERTORY COMPANY HIGH SCHOOL FOR THEATRE ARTS; PROFESSIONAL PERFORMING ARTS HIGH SCHOOLNCES EDGE
Elevation	79 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	45 county-logged events: 20 flash flood, 19 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 lightning; $114,073,500 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 10023, 2026-09	median list price $1,709,750 (-1.1% on the year); 291 active listings; median 63 days on market; 5% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	9,268 establishments (-21%); 115,257 jobs (-21%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $1.2M (+3% 1 yr, -10% 5 yr); typical rent $4,779/mo (+6% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	25,794 vehicles a day on 8TH AVE (principal arterial); 1,444 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Sofia was a 1930 parking garage/warehouse (Kent Automatic Garages) that closed in 1983. It was retrofitted in 1984 by Aaron Green and Growth Realty Companies into residential/commercial condominiums, approved by NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. The retrofit was completed in 1984. Current status is 'built' with 'after_notes' confirming residential/commercial condos. The site is located in Manhattan (Upper West Side per narrative), near CBS Studio Building (1.5km) and Gilsey House (2.7km).

Why. The site is a completed retrofit (not a future opportunity), with median rent noted at $2,132. Housing is confirmed in the record. Peer projects include Gilsey House (3km away) and other NY 'reinhabit' conversions. No current occupancy or rent data beyond the median figure is provided.

Where it stands. The retrofit is complete. The site is part of a cluster of 25 nearby developments within 10km, including operating buildings (CBS Studio) and proposed projects (5 Times Square).

For a planner

LPC approval confirmed
No current vacancy rate or rent data provided
Adjacent to 1.5km CBS Studio Building (operating)

For a developer

Retrofit already built (no new construction opportunity)
Median rent $2,132 cited as a factor
Peer projects show similar NY 'reinhabit' conversions

What we do not know yet

No current occupancy rate
No current rent figures beyond median
No details on condo sales performance
No current developer ownership stated beyond 1983 sale
No data on whether housing demand matches median rent figure

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Biscayne Boulevard Sears, Miami, FL · Big boxes · opened 1929; closed 1983; same strategy: reinhabit
Gilsey House, New York City, NY · Other · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY; 3 km away
Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters, Brooklyn Heights, NY · Other · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY; 8 km away
Dunbar Apartments, New York City, NY · Garden apartments · opened 1928; same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY

Elsewhere on the web

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

retrofit already built
median rent $2,132
housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened	1930newtypes-extraction
Closed	1983newtypes-extraction reported
Original developer	Kent Automatic Garagesnewtypes-extraction reported
County	New York County
Census division	2 · Mid-Atlantic
Notes	Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: A former 1,000-spot parking garage with a gas station, later a warehouse, was converted into a 94-unit residential and commercial condominium building.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

The Sofia (formerly the Kent Automatic Garage and the Sofia Brothers Warehouse) is a condominium building at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 61st Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was constructed from 1929 to 1930 and was designed by the firm of Jardine, Hill & Murdock in the Art Deco style for Kent Automatic Garages. The Sofia is 27 stories tall; the first nine stories above the ground level are used as offices, while the top 17 stories contain residential condominiums.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

1930 Garage opened
1930 Opened
1944 Converted to warehouse
1983 Designated as a city landmark
1983 Building bought for condominium conversion
1983 Closed
1984 Condominium conversion completed
1984 Retrofit: reinhabit

Sources

The Sofia · CC BY-SA 4.0
6 quoted sentences
The Sofia (formerly the Kent Automatic Garage and the Sofia Brothers Warehouse)
The 61st Street garage opened on July 30, 1930
the Sofia Brothers Warehousing Company acquired the Kent Parking Garage with plans to convert the building into a storage warehouse.
The building was designated as a city landmark on April 12, 1983

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Sofia, New York City, NY." Record n-043b8b5412, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/other/ny/new-york-city-sofia/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_newyorkcitysofia,
  title = {Sofia, New York City, NY},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/other/ny/new-york-city-sofia/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-043b8b5412, release 2026.10.20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

How to cite, versioning

Link back

Paste on a project page: <a href="https://retrofitatlas.org/other/ny/new-york-city-sofia/">Sofia on Retrofit Atlas</a>

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Record

n-043b8b5412 · JSON · source last edited 2026-10-18 · reviewed by a person: not yet

Corrections

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Midtown PlazaRochester, NY · 2005Partial Redeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: residential Partial redevelopment: office…Rainbow MallNiagara Falls, NY · 2012Partial Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: education

Site profile8 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Nownewtypes-extraction

Planningresearch and extraction

Deals and debtpublic reporting; Wikipedia for older rows

Site contextpublic APIs, see origins; tract and county figures sit at different geographies and are not directly comparable

Summary, model-writtenwritten from this record only, not reviewed by a person

For a planner

For a developer

What we do not know yet

Similar sitescomputed on size, era, strategy, status, type and place

Elsewhere on the websearch links

Multifamily screen0 points · research only

History and original factsnewtypes-extraction

BackgroundWikipedia, CC BY-SA, shortened

Timelinesources below

Sources1 sources