Trump Place to get next rental.

Within the next two months, a new rental building will be rising along Riverside Boulevard, joining two other residential towers that are currently nearing completion.

Developer Donald J. Trump and his Hong Kong partners have created apartment buildings that have Hudson River sunset views, a modern, upscale feel and lots of light and air.

"It's a beautiful job," Trump said, proud of the visible signs that he has succeeded despite a dozen years of neighborhood opposition. In fact, he joined with several previously opposed groups to create a planning board that helped draft the final project.

But one of the more distinguishing characteristics of the marketing program for the new residences is that these true West Sider-friendly buildings allow dogs. And not only are the furry friends allowed, but the may 20-plus acres of parkland now being constructed at the water's edge will also feature a very neighborly dog run.

"If you walk down any street on the West Side, you see as many four-foot creatures as those with two legs" said Nancy Packes, who heads the Feathered Nest rental team working on 180 Riverside Boulevard, a 516-unit building with 40-stories. "We felt it would be a disservice to provide the apartment where they wanted it, and not allow pets."

So far, she says, about a third of the tenants have dogs.

"New Yorkers love their animals," agreed Joanne Kennedy, a partner with Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy, whose agents are bringing clients on tours of the buildings.

Despite whinings by neighborhood foes and nay-sayers, 180 Riverside Boulevard is over 82 percent rented at prices ranging from just under $2,000 to nearly $7,000 a month.

"We are getting rents far above what was projected when they first put the package together," said Packes.

To the north, across 69th Street, about 120 of the 377 condominiums at 200 Riverside Boulevard are spoken for. In fact, according to Trump Vice President Abraham Wallach, future residents are dropping sales deposits at a clip of 20 per week.

"It's phenomenal," said Adrienne Alpert, president of the Marketing Directors, who is in charge of the sales for the 46-story condominium. "There is very little new construction; it offers Hudson River views that are really guaranteed; and the prices are competitive."

A glance at the completed sales shows many units selling in the $400,000 to $600,000 range, with the lowest starling at $325,000 and the highest sales coming in at just under $2 million for huge, tower floor units.

So why aren't there lights on in the condominium apartments? Simply because no one will move in until April, as the building is still under construction.

A walk-through last week found the newly installed polished dark rosewood and marble lobby concierge counter being hand polished, anti numerous security guards directing visitors to the sales office being manned by Alpert and her Marketing Directors staff.

There's only one model apartment, but Alpert has several doll-house like displays on hand to provide countertop views of different miniature furnished apartments. This is a marketing technique she has used for pre-sales since 1980, Alpert said.

Upstairs, the actual apartments have herringboned oak floors, marble baths, Kohler fixtures, Gamma Pink granite kitchen countertops and the top line of GE Profile appliances with gas stoves. A curve of windows - stopped for child safety at the 4.5 inch mark - provides a spacious nook for a dining table, and the kitchen has views of Central Park.

Below, the Circle Line tour heads up the Hudson River towards the George Washington Bridge, while the New Jersey shore appears quite different than that experienced while driving down the West Side Highway. From above, the Jersey shore has hundreds of new apartments being constructed, while inland there are miles of barren and green areas.

There are views to the south of the Statute of Liberty, the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building. While more buildings are expected to fill in, the curved site and staggered setbacks will maintain many of the view corridors.

"You are swept away by the beauty and elegance of the apartments," said Packes. "And the views are breathtaking."

The highway is of course what area legislators focused on as a way to stop the new neighborhood. Instead, since Rep. Jerrold Nadler has blocked Federal funding to have the highway torn down and rebuilt under the new Riverside Boulevard, the new resident voter park users are more likely to curse at the afternoon shadows and highway columns and send him packing home from Washington.

Since Rep. Nadler has also prevented low interest rate, government insured financing from helping Trump, the slightly higher conventional financing meant the prices and rents are higher, even for the 20 percent of the rentals that were set aside and hotly coveted by low income families.

There is a tunnel under Freedom Place, the parallel north-south street that backs onto Lincoln Towers and allows the Amtrack trains to continue to make their New England runs underground.

At both buildings, there are brokers and clients coming and going on tours. At the rental, with a creamy marble and light wood lobby and common area decor, brokers are being given one month's rent as a commission incentive.

Many of the new residents are already West Siders who are relocating for the better view, the dog-friendly apartment, the Trump quality and attentive management, or just to have a washer dryer in their apartment.

But there are some from elsewhere, such as the young Brazilian business man touring that day, and there is even a group of Ranger hockey players. But the East Siders are not buying, agreed Alpert, who said, "They don't cross the park."

A resident with longish hair and wearing a backpack stepped into the elevator - this is not your typical Trump customer - and he said they were very happy with their new home, just surprised by the river winds that we found even reached to Fifth Avenue that blustery day.

There is a bicycle storage room, valet parking for the building garage, and an attended service entrance. A health club is also under development. "The market demands it," said Packes.

All the apartments are pre-wired for up to nine phone lines and the convenient fiber optic line that circumnavigates Manhattan at its edges. Access is provided by Advanced Digital Networks, while SkyView Digital Satellite Television is an option instead of cable. At the condo, there is a huge health club and pool, some public outdoor terrace space and valet parking.

Soon, a grocery store will sign its lease and move into the retail space at 180 Riverside Drive, providing an amenity for the growing neighborhood.

Several developers are in various phases of pre-zoning to pre-construction work on a handful of residential buildings that will rise on the lower portions of West End Avenue by 59th and 60th streets and just to its east. That's going to be a different market, say brokers, who believe the river and the Trump quality will work their own magic.

The former West Side Railyards was zoned for 16 residential buildings and a 1.8 million square-foot commercial building at its most southern end.

There is interest from several entertainment and other firms, said Wallach, including a West Coast-based firm that he had met with a few days earlier. That site is being marketed through Cushman & Wakefield.

Construction is expected to start on the next Trump Place residential building just to the south of the first two this spring. A rental, it too was part of the master plan developed by David Childs of Skidmore Owings Merrill, with an exterior designed by Philip Johnson.

"It's an Art Deco theme and will be very different from the others," said Costas Kondylis, the architect who devised the layouts in all the Trump Place buildings. "This has a glassy character and is designed as a luxury rental, with one-, two- and three-bedrooms, and a lot of corner apartments. It will have 33-stories with about 500 units.

"They are doing well," said Joanne Kennedy, a principal of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy. "The location is unique and the square footage is tight, but he came on the market at the perfect time in terms of demand."

And if demand continues at the same rate for the condominium, two even more luxurious condominium towers will start to go up this fall.

So far, no construction firms have been chosen, and because the site abuts another building on 72nd Street, both will have to go up at the same time, explained Wallach.

Packes is also looking forward to the new rental building. "The price curve has only continued to rise. There is almost nothing being built on the Upper West Side. And our site is very favored because of the river views. It's a premium location."

Trump Place will ultimately consist of 5,700 apartments in 16 buildings - with 684 units in at least three of the buildings to be "affordable" - 110,000 square feet of service-type commercial and movie theaters, and eventually, all fronted by the 21.5 acre park. That $13.3 million project will have a waterfront promenade, terraced walks and fishing pier, among other amenities. A Little League field is currently being fixed up on the northern edge, and the outlets for electrical wires and lamp fixtures are visible along the walkways.

A school and other community facilities will be woven into the project. The developer is also contributing over $10 million for subway station improvements and another half million dollars for local, senior and youth programs, and job training.