Morningside Heights

Closely associated with Columbia University, today's Morningside Heights is more Upper West Side (its southern neighbor) than Harlem (to its north).

Prewar co-ops abound, and that, combined with Columbia's century-old campus, lends a serene, peaceful environment to this primarily residential neighborhood. But glassy rentals have come to the nabe, too: The Avalon Morningside Park offers 296 rental units on 110th Street.

There are conversions in Morningside Heights as well: In 2004, a former cancer hospital built in 1887 -- and rumored to be haunted -- became a luxury condo known as 455 Central Park West, where prices started around $3.5 million.

Still, not all the change in the nabe is bewildering or frowned upon. The much-anticipated Museum of African Art, designed by Robert A.M. Stern, will occupy a stretch of Fifth Avenue between 109th and 110th streets. The building will incorporate 115 luxury condos.