520 Fifth Avenue

Midtown | built 2025

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1836

    Mary Murray and Anna Shotwell open the Colored Orphan Asylum at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street

    An earlier institution stood at this corner: the Colored Orphan Asylum, a school and shelter for Black children, opened in 1836 through Mary Murray and Anna Shotwell. Women alone ran it for more than a century. Fewer than a third of its residents were actually orphans, and around age twelve most were sent back to their parents or placed as farm laborers or domestic servants.

    Source: virtualny.ashp.cuny.edu

  2. 1863

    A mob burns the Colored Orphan Asylum to the ground during the draft riots

    In the draft riots of July 1863 a crowd, which the New York Times put at several hundred, mostly women and children, attacked the asylum's large four-story building. They plundered it, looted donated baby clothes, and set the first floor on fire despite the pleas of administrators. The building was a total loss.

    Source: findingaids.library.nyu.edu

  3. 2007

    RFR and Tahl-Propp agree to redevelop three Fifth Avenue buildings as one site, then end up in a legal dispute

    In 2007 RFR Realty entered a joint venture with Tahl-Propp Equities, the owner of 520 Fifth Avenue, to either redevelop the three adjoining buildings as a single site or sell them to another developer. A legal dispute between the partners followed, and RFR then bought 516 and 518 Fifth Avenue for roughly $10 million each. RFR never redeveloped the site, and Thor Equities later took over the purchase.

    “RFR and Tahl-Propp entered into the deal to redevelop or sell the composite site in 2007.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2015

    Thor Equities sells the Fifth Avenue assemblage for $325 million after planning a 71-story tower

    Thor Equities, which finalized its purchase of the buildings here in 2012, filed plans in December 2014 for a 71-story, 920-foot tower by Handel Architects. It never built it and sold the site in 2015 to Ceruzzi Properties and SMI USA for $325 million. Lou Ceruzzi had hoped to start building in 2016, but he died in 2017, and the partners defaulted on their loan in 2018.

    “Thor did not proceed with the building, and ultimately sold the site to a joint venture between Ceruzzi Properties and SMI USA for $325 million in 2015.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2019

    Mickey Rabina buys the site for $205 million and hires Kohn Pedersen Fox

    Developer Mickey Rabina bought the site in 2019 for $205 million. Kohn Pedersen Fox won the job after its president, James von Klemperer, heard about the plans and cold-called Rabina. KPF filed plans in early 2021 for a terracotta-clad tower of about 896 feet with roughly 100 residences, replacing the earlier Handel design.

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 2022

    Builders at 520 Fifth Avenue work a 10,625-square-foot lot with several cranes and a set of hoists

    Excavation for the tower was still underway in July 2022, and foundation work began later that year. The lot measures only about 10,625 square feet, and the side streets had to stay open to traffic, so the contractor put up several cranes to raise the frame. A series of hoists was added to speed up deliveries of materials to the rising floors.

    “The project was constrained by the small site and the fact that the neighboring streets could not be closed to traffic.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 2022

    March

    Rabina lines up $540 million in construction financing from Bank OZK and Carlyle

    In March 2022 developer Mickey Rabina secured $540 million to build the tower at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street. The package combined a $410 million senior loan from Bank OZK with $130 million of mezzanine financing from Carlyle. The building was planned with 100 condominiums above 25 floors of offices, plus a members' social club called Moss.

    Source: rebusinessonline.com

  8. 2024

    October 28

    520 Fifth Avenue tops out at 1,002 feet, second only to the Empire State Building on the avenue

    The 88-story tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by Rabina topped out on October 28, 2024, at 1,002 feet. That made it the second-tallest structure on Fifth Avenue after the Empire State Building. About 70 percent of its 100 condominiums had been sold by then, with the residences starting on the 42nd floor.

    Source: 6sqft

  9. 2025

    KPF's tower at 520 Fifth rises about 1,000 feet with a facade of arches

    Kohn Pedersen Fox describes 520 Fifth Avenue as a mixed-use tower of about 305 meters (1,000 feet) holding offices, residences and retail. Instead of an all-glass skin, its facade is modulated by arches, a deliberate nod to classically inspired New York architecture. The firm says the design emphasizes sustainability and wellness, with column-free interiors around a compact core.

    Source: kpf.com

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