For decades, Roosevelt Island has quietly held a paradoxical place in New Yorkers’ imaginations: close enough to Manhattan to matter, but remote enough to be invisible.

But as home values burst through the $2 million ceiling for the first time in its history, the island is now emerging as a place that even the most discerning locals can no longer overlook.

In the last 18 months alone, the 2-mile sliver of land in the East River has quietly emerged as a premium-price frontier — logging historic sales and inching toward full buildout. Roosevelt Island’s defining moment came over the summer, when Penthouse 1C at Riverwalk Landing traded hands for nearly $2.27 million, the most expensive residence ever sold there. 

In the last 18 months, Roosevelt Island has seen an unprecedented leap in premium transactions. Westend61 – stock.adobe.com

Katie Armour Taylor, who moved from North Carolina with her husband and young son, said, “It reminds me of my 1980s, 90s childhood — but you’re in the heart of New York City.” China News Service via Getty Images

Just a few years ago, island records hovered around $1.8 million — and anything asking $2 million was considered aspirational at best.  

A nearby unit at 415 Main St., known as Riverwalk Court, is now listed for $2.4 million. Should that sell for its asking price, Roosevelt Island will have yet another record deal in a short span of time. A neighboring resale recently fetched $2.1 million. Even a 1970s co-op in Rivercross — long part of the state’s Mitchell-Lama housing program — sold for more than $2 million earlier this year.

“Roosevelt Island has become a very highly sought-after neighborhood,” David Kramer, president of Hudson Companies, which co-developed the Riverwalk complex with Related, told The Post. 

A three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit at 415 Main St. Paul Panatsas

The unit is considered the most expensive listing on the island currently. Paul Panatsas

One of three bedrooms. Paul Panatsas

The unit boasts city views. VHT for The Corcoran Group

“People really love it there in that it’s sort of small-town village living, but a four-minute tram ride from Bloomingdale’s.”

That duality — prized proximity to Midtown with a calm, almost suburban, feel — is one reason prices are climbing. 

The summer’s record-breaking penthouse, listed by Corcoran’s Kaja Meade, offered nearly 270-degree views, stretching from the Chrysler Building to Queens, plus a 1,122-square-foot terrace.

Four Freedoms Park is among the island’s more recent additions. Getty Images

Roosevelt Island has plenty of options for play, too. Stefano Giovannini

“When people are willing to spend in the higher price points, the No. 1 property feature that people look for on the island is obviously the view,” Meade said. “You can’t have a Manhattan view when you’re in Manhattan.”

But the appeal isn’t just visual.

“Just based on the statistics, it’s the safest neighborhood in the city,” Kramer said. “It has the highest outdoor space per capita of any neighborhood in the city. There are soccer fields, tennis courts, baseball fields — and the Racquet Club is considered the finest place to play tennis in the city.”

The island boasts roughly 14,000 residence and includes one highly reputable public K-8 school, PS/IS 217.

A new record has been set for the most expensive home sale in Roosevelt Island history with the $2.27 million purchase of Penthouse PH1C at Riverwalk Landing in May 2025. Courtesy of Corcoran

The living room of the most expensive unit ever sold on the island. Courtesy of Corcoran

A bedroom at the record-setting unit that sold for $2.27 million. Courtesy of Corcoran

Katie Armour Taylor, 39, moved to Roosevelt Island from Greensboro, North Carolina, with her husband and young son after years of living in Manhattan and Brooklyn. They discovered Roosevelt Island almost by accident.

“We were at the Greensboro airport, talking to a woman who lived on the island,” Taylor said. “She started telling us how great it was, and I literally didn’t even know where it was — which I realized is true for so many people in New York.”

One tram ride later, they were sold.

“It was quiet, it was green … it kind of felt like you get all the pluses of suburban life, but you’re in the middle of the city,” she said. “People just have no idea.”

With no additional development currently approved, inventory is expected to remain tight. ADDICTIVE STOCK – stock.adobe.com

Now, 15 months in, she said the lifestyle still stuns her.

“I can’t think of anywhere else in New York City where a kid can just jump on his bike with his buddies … and I don’t feel nervous. It reminds me of my 1980s, ’90s childhood — but you’re in the heart of New York City.”

Today, many of the new condo listings come from Riverwalk Landing, the final building in the long-running Riverwalk development. 

Some of its units had remained leased since construction — now, as those leases expire, the last few sponsor units are hitting the market.

“We had four three-bedroom apartments. We sold them all,” said Meade. “This was the largest one.”

Inside, the apartments are tailored to what today’s buyers want: space, light and flexibility. 

The $2.4 million penthouse now on the market features 12-foot ceilings, a rooftop cabana, sweeping city views from every room, and a kitchen equipped with a smart fridge that streams music and connects to Alexa.

As prices rise, so too does the pool of buyers.

This unit recently listed for $2.35 million earlier this month. Allyson Lubow

“We’ve been surprised by the diversity of the demographic that have purchased our units,” Alex Barrett, development director and architect at Hudson, told The Post. 

“It spans all sorts of ages. Some folks are coming back to New York after being away, a lot of people who work at health and educational institutions on the Upper East Side, some connected to the UN — it makes for a great community,” Barrett said.

Taylor echoed that sentiment, saying: “It’s such a community — you walk from the train to your building and you wave to like, 15 different neighbors. It’s just the sense of community here is like nothing we’ve experienced before.”

For decades, buildings like Island House, Westview and Rivercross operated under affordability regulations. Now, many of those have transitioned to market-rate homes — and residents are selling for the first time.

This Rivercross co-op at 531 Main St. sold for more than $2 million, setting records. VHT for The Corcoran Group

A bedroom of the Rivercross unit that sold for over $2 million. VHT for The Corcoran Group

“Those people were not necessarily eager to sell,” said Meade. “They wanted to live in their apartments until they retired or, frankly, died.”

Proximity remains Roosevelt Island’s secret weapon — not just to Manhattan, but to the rest of the city. 

Residents can commute by subway, tram, ferry or bike. The island has its own public safety department and a vacuum-powered trash collection system. It also boasts one of the city’s most unique institutions: Cornell Tech, which Kramer calls “a real point of pride for the island.”

Add in a waterfront park by architect Louis Kahn, public art at Lighthouse Park and a bustling event space called The Sanctuary, and the island feels more like a bustling community than a forgotten Manhattan appendix.

Broker Kaja Meade, who has led multiple record-setting sales, emphasized how rare listings still are and how much buyers now value views, outdoor space and condo flexibility. Christopher Sadowski

Despite all this, many lifelong New Yorkers still don’t even know where Roosevelt Island is — a fact both Meade and Taylor confirm. Stefano Giovannini

That mix of infrastructure and quality of life has made believers out of skeptics.

“When we were designated in 1997, the housing stock wasn’t viewed that favorably,” Kramer said. “We asked ourselves: Is this a good neighborhood to get involved in? If you build nice housing, will people want to be there? And the answer was yes.”

But the spot is filling up. With the last of the sponsor units selling and no new residential development currently approved, the window is closing. Those on the market to buy better act fast.

“The island is maxed out,” said Meade. “There’s just not that much to buy.”