The Centra Condominium (New York City, New York)

 condominiums, 1985_construction

9-story modernist residential building completed in 1985. Designed by David Roth, it is L-shaped and clad in orange brick. The ground floor along the avenue is lined by glass-and-metal storefronts between the brick piers. The upper floors have narrow double-windows in the north and south end bays. In between, the east facade is grouped into eight sections, each with two bays paired together. From the south, the pairings are: a tripartite window and narrow double-window; two wider double-windows, a narrow double-window and tripartite window; a narrow double-window and wider double-window; a narrow double-window and tripartite window; another narrow double-window and tripartite window; two narrow double-windows; and a tripartite window and narrow double-window. They all have dark-grey metal framing and white stone sills, with dark-grey metal vents below most of the windows. A setback above the 8th floor is marked by a metal coping. The 9th floor has four glass atrium sections (each a little less than two bays wide) with rounded tops, each flanked by double-windows. Another coping marks the main roof line.

The main entrance is on the north facade on 89th Street, with glass double-doors and sidelights recessed between brick piers that recede in stair-step fashion. A green canvas canopy extends out from over the doors. To the east are two wide bays of large plate-glass windows on the ground floor (with four panes in the end bay and three in the other). To the west is a commercial space, occupied by Bright Horizons Day Care Center, with frosted-glass windows. Two sections of windows are bisected by a recessed entrance with non-frosted glass doors, set behind a brick pier. At the west end of this section is a frosted-glass door. The commercial space continues to the west end of the building with two wide bays of frosted-glass windows. The upper floors have narrow double-windows at the east end bay, followed by wider double-windows, three groups of tripartite windows and double-windows paired together, two wider double-windows paired together, a narrow double-window paired with a tripartite window, and a narrow double-window end bay at the west. The east end sets back above the 8th floor, along with most of the rest of the east half of the north facade, with the west half of this setback extending farther back. The west half of the north facade is shorter, and sets back above the 6th floor, with the areas behind rising to various levels.

The south facade on 88th Street has a show-window at the east end, and a black metal service door at the west. The upper floors have five bays - a double-window in the center, flanked by shorter single-windows, and end bays with narrower double-windows. There are small setbacks at the east and west ends. A 1-story extension to the west contains the entrance to the building's underground parking garage and another service door, with a landscaped deck on top. The west- and south-facing walls on the inside of the L-shape have the same brick, and similar patterns of paired window bays. The 9th floor on the west-facing side of the south wing has two more of the glass atria.

The building contains 108 condominium units. The ground floor along the avenue is occupied by Club Pilates, Fhitting Room gym, Supreme Martial Arts, Columbus Art Gallery & Custom Framing, Dashing Diva nail salon, Domino's Pizza, and Lalu Deli & Grocery.