KPF’s 520 Fifth Avenue Supertall Rises Higher Above Midtown, Manhattan

520 Fifth Avenue. Rendering by DBOX

Construction is steadily climbing on 520 Fifth Avenue, an 88-story residential supertall in Midtown, Manhattan. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by Rabina, which took over from Ceruzzi Properties and SMI USA in 2019, the 1,002-foot-tall skyscraper will yield 507,608 square feet with 100 condominium units, as well as commercial space on the lower floors and four cellar levels. WSP is the structural engineer, DeSimone Consulting Engineers is the façade consultant, and Suffolk Construction is the general contractor for the property, which is located at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and West 43rd Street, one block north of Bryant Park.

Only a handful of floors had been built at the time of our last update in early May. Since then, the reinforced concrete superstructure has more than doubled in height, passing the first setback. A yellow safety cocoon envelops the uppermost levels as crews prepare for the pouring of subsequent stories. The construction crane and mechanical hoist have also been extended to keep up with the building’s progress.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

A second crane is beginning to be installed on the edge of the seventh floor along Fifth Avenue. It hangs off a cantilevering steel platform and abuts the adjacent building to the north.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Directly west of 520 Fifth Avenue is the 176-year-old Century Association clubhouse, which features an ornate Italian Renaissance Revival design.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

The following photos show metal clips for the façade in place along the edges of the lower floor plates, which are temporarily enclosed with orange netting as crews await the arrival of the arched windows. We could likely see the first panels arrive in the coming weeks.

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

520 Fifth Avenue’s completion date is posted on the construction board for June 1, 2026.

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29 Comments on "KPF’s 520 Fifth Avenue Supertall Rises Higher Above Midtown, Manhattan"

  1. what a disaster right next to a historic building
    Definitely going to crack or ruin the landmarked building next door.
    more luxury building for the super rich

    • That’s how they maximize their profits – to build for the super rich. I guess building for the middle class is not cost effective for them anymore.

    • You are sounding more and more ignorant as time goes on. No evidence. Just nonsense.

    • what? how?
      Remember this is YIMBY not NIMBY

    • Great, another day, another complaint from the infamous Guesser. It baffling why you feel the need to use so many different usernames to comment on Yimby, like you’re trying to cover your tracks like a criminal.

      Is there anything positive or less hostile you can ever say that doesn’t make you sound like a Karen or have you always been sounding this salty since forever?

      Isn’t it better that the old building didn’t get torn down?

    • Peterinthecity | July 17, 2023 at 9:45 pm | Reply

      You’re certainly entitled to your opinion. The land owner(s) and developer(s) are also entitled to develop something on the lot. I personally think the building is interesting, though I’ll save my final opinion until after I see some of the facade. I’m not sure why people get so angry nowadays about comments on this site. Whether you have used multiple usernames or not I do not know and I don’t care. I certainly don’t mind your comments and personally find John’s comment to be bullying compared with your fairly benign remarks.

      I absolutely feel your pain about the fact that almost everything being built is for the rich- NYC is not a place for middle class or working class people anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time- certainly not new construction. This isn’t a good thing, but the reality is that construction costs a fortune in NYC and someone has to pay for it. The same issue is found in most of the USA at this point- though the numbers are not quite as exquisitely obscene.

      I hope you continue to share your opinions, critical or otherwise. We all need to avoid our myopic belief that whatever we feel must be true. It will be a shame if the building next door is damaged- but that’s an if and it will be dealt with if it occurs. We’ve been building next to older buildings since the first dwellings were torn down so we certainly have the ability to avoid damage if we’re careful and plan accordingly. Risk is everywhere in a large city, it’s a concern, but not a reason to do nothing.

    • I guess anything you cant afford to live in, or won’t work in, is immediately defined and demoted to being called a piece of crap…

  2. Nice, but anything is better than a vacant lot on 5th Ave in midtown!!

  3. I used to work at 500 5th Ave. Looks like this building is going to be 300 feet higher, but I wish the developers would have given it more thought and tried to keep the building’s design in conformity with its art deco neighbor.

  4. Minor quibble with YIMBY: the Roman numeral on the Century Association, MDCCCLXXXIX, converts to 1889. That’s 134 years ago, not 176. The club is 176 years old, not the building.

  5. What would we DO without little “metal clips” to hang wall panels on a building 76 stories high?! 🤔

    Of course, I’d be more concerned about that massive 2nd crane being assembled on a SHELF overhanging 5th Avenue?!! 🥺

  6. David in Bushwick | July 17, 2023 at 11:52 am | Reply

    It’s a shame what they tore down here in 2013, and then it sat vacant until now.
    The rendering looks okay, but it’s hard to tell what it will end up looking like down to the sidewalk. We’ll see.

  7. It looks better than the Russian lock box (262 Fifth Ave) down the street, but I’ll never understand why they let these be built so close to the Golden Goose, ESB.

  8. Cheesemaster200 | July 17, 2023 at 2:29 pm | Reply

    98 units over 500,000 square feet.

  9. Steam clean the old beauty next door

  10. Bryant Park is not on 5th Ave.

    • The article is not implying it’s on fifth Avenue. It’s just saying it’s numerically one block north of it, which is true right??

    • I think technically the Library is _in_ Bryant Park, which includes the trees between the Library and Fifth Ave. Is The Met _in_ Central Park?

      • I agree, the MET is technically in the boundaries of Central Park, so the NYPL is within the parameters of Bryant Park’s location as the two go hand in hand

  11. I think 500 5th Ave is one of the underrated buildings

  12. David : Sent From Heaven. | July 18, 2023 at 2:37 am | Reply

    American English is showing progress about the new supertall rising, and hit the big city as skyline to style on its extremely tall. So this is first-rate to beginning and will be structured on top level, over there is high enough to standing prominently with the Empire State Building: Thanks to Michael Young.

  13. Does the building actually cantilever over part of the Century Association? It certainly looks that way in the photos, but I don’t recall that from the renderings.

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