SET HALFWAY BETWEEN CULTURAL SUPER-LANDMARKS LIKE THE ROCKEFELLER CENTER AND THE EMPIRE STATE, THE TALLEST RESIDENTIAL TOWER ALONG MANHATTAN’S FAMOUS DRAG RISES WITH GLAMOUR AND GRANDEUR

BY AMANDA McCOY

While the term boutique often evokes images of smaller-scale architecture, a soaring new supertall in Midtown Manhattan is challenging those conventions. When 520 Fifth Avenue marks its completion in 2026, the 1,002-foot-tall high-rise will be officially christened as the tallest residential mixed-use edifice on the famed thoroughfare, yet it will only offer 100 units a far cry from the hundreds or even thousands of door fronts in many of the globe’s leading mega developments.

To bring the vision to life, Manhattan-based developer Rabina tapped KPF, the New York-born architecture firm behind several skyline-shaping superstructures like the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Lotte World Tower in South Korea. The firm described 520 Fifth as a vertical village, an 88-story collection of ultra-luxe residences, retail and office spaces, and Moss, a private members-only club spread across five levels offering entrepreneurs and thought leaders a space to gather, create, and connect.

With prestigious neighbors that have defined the Fifth Avenue streetscape for a century and beyond, 520 Fifth was designed to complement the social spine of Manhattan.

Floor-to-ceiling windows result in cheerful, light-washed spaces for inhabitants, sure, but an all-glass facade would stick out amid the carved limestone walls and Italian-Renaissance palazzos lining the historic street.

“I think all tall buildings, especially, have a kind of responsibility that goes beyond the program and the site,” noted James von Klemperer, president of KPF, in an interview with the New York Times. “Because once you emerge into the skyline in a significant way, which this building will, the skyline is almost viewed, I think, by us New Yorkers as public property. If you put up a terrible profile on the skyline, everybody has to look at it from uptown, downtown, Long Island, New Jersey.

And it’s very subjective, but we feel we should be doing something to grace the skyline, not to give it some defect.”

520 Fifth’s base features a mélange of glazed terracotta arches, an ode to The Century Association next door, a circa-1891 icon by the legendary Beaux Arts firm McKim, Mead & White.

Dramatic arches continue climbing up the tower, framing large 10-by-10 windows for sweeping views of both Bryant and Central Parks and the rolling cityscape. Spiraling setbacks harken back to empire skyscrapers of yore, and at the top, an arched crown crests 1,000 vertical feet. “There’s something lyrical about the setbacks, the way they step like the pipes of an organ or musical scales,” described Klemperer of the facade.

Vicky Charles of Charles & Co, a regular entry in Architectural Digest’s Top 100 Interior Design Firms, oversaw the interiors in the firm’s first condominium project in the city. Charles, a 20-year Soho House veteran and designer-of choice for a slate of A-listers like George Clooney and Harry Styles, has built a name around her brand of refined coziness. Each home is free of columns, lending a warm, light-flooded openness accented with veined stones, European inspired mosaics, and patterned textiles. Model units reveal a bright and earthy design palette, with curved low-slung sofas illuminated by dramatic overhead lighting fixtures, while brass rolling bar carts pay homage to 20th century New York glamour.

Residences begin on the 42nd floor (stories nine through 34 are reserved for office space) and top out at the 80th, while the top floor holds the massive amenities suite, replete with a sun-washed solarium, game and billiards room, and a private dining room. Residents are welcomed home via a private, 24-hour attended lobby with glossy mosaic floors. Residences span one to four bedrooms, and many feature triple-exposure living and bedrooms, 14-foot ceilings, and open-air corner balconies with sweeping vistas across the Big Apple. Master suites feature dual walk-in closets and five-fixture designer bathrooms, and secondary bedrooms come equipped with their own en-suite baths.

Charles custom designed the kitchens, choosing curved, reeded walnut islands juxtaposed by white lacquer cabinetry and quartzite slab countertops. Primary bathrooms are equally rich and luxurious, featuring custom walnut vanities with Calacatta Lincoln Gold slab countertops, herringbone marble floors, polished nickel fixtures by Waterworks, and freestanding soaking tubs alongside a floor-to ceiling window for bathing amid scenes of the city.

Sales are underway, and KPF noted 60% of units were already gobbled up after just a few months. Units begin around $1.7 million, with top-floor penthouses demanding $11 million-plus price tags.

520 Fifth Avenue 520fifth.com