685 First Avenue

685 1st Avenue | also 340 East 40th Street, 345 East 39th Street, 685 First Avenue | Murray Hill | built 2018

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

  1. 1998

    Con Edison puts its First Avenue parking lot on the market with two other East Side sites

    In 1998 Con Edison listed for sale the parking lot on the eastern portion of its block at 685 First Avenue, between 39th and 40th Streets, where it had built an electrical substation and the lot in the mid-1980s. Two other First Avenue properties were listed with it, the blocks between 35th and 36th Streets and between 40th and 41st Streets. Unlike the other parcels, which were zoned for manufacturing, the 685 First Avenue site was already zoned to allow retail and residential development.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 2000

    Con Edison contracts to sell its First Avenue sites to a Fisher Brothers, Solow and Morgan Stanley partnership

    More than 20 bids came in for four Con Edison properties along First Avenue, and the winning bid came from a development team involving Sheldon Solow and the Fisher Brothers, backed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. In 2000 Con Edison contracted to sell the properties, including the site at 685 First Avenue, to FSM East River Associates, a partnership of the Fisher Brothers, Solow and Morgan Stanley. The sale closed in 2005. Con Edison also needed state Public Service Commission approval to expand its East River Generating Station, to make up for closing the Waterside Generating Station.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 2008

    The city trims the planned First Avenue tower from 721 feet to a maximum of 462 feet

    The first plans for the site called for a 69-story, 721-foot residential tower at 685 First Avenue. A rezoning of Con Edison's former properties was approved in 2008, and during the public review the City Planning Commission and City Council lowered the maximum height for this building to 462 feet. The 2008 financial crisis then stalled the project, and Meier updated the master plan in 2012.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2015

    August

    Solow files plans for a 42-story tower at 685 First Avenue, Richard Meier's first all-black building

    In August 2015 Sheldon Solow filed plans for a 42-story building at 685 First Avenue. It was designed by Richard Meier, known for white buildings, as his first all-black glass building, because Solow specifically asked for a black curtain wall, as on all his buildings. Meier agreed to depart from his white palette given his close friendship with Solow, with whom he had worked on the site's master plan since 2005. The west facade has 69 balconies, which Solow's son Stefan Soloviev advocated.

    “The use of a black curtain wall was specifically requested by Solow, as all of his buildings were black. Meier agreed to deviate from his traditional white palette…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2017

    September

    685 First Avenue tops out at 460 feet, Richard Meier's tallest New York tower

    In September 2017 the tower at 685 First Avenue topped out at 460 feet, the tallest of Richard Meier's projects in New York. Construction had begun in March 2016, making it the first of the former Con Edison properties that Solow developed. Solow, who had mainly built rental buildings, added condominiums here after the state's 421-a tax exemption program expired.

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 2019

    January

    Renters move into 685 First Avenue and its condominiums are rebranded One United Nations Park

    Rental leasing at 685 First Avenue began in January 2019, and residents started moving in. That year the condominiums were renamed One United Nations Park to help with marketing, a nod to the building's spot two blocks south of the United Nations headquarters. The tower holds 556 apartments: 408 rentals on the 3rd through 27th floors and 148 condominiums from the 28th floor up.

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 2022

    Black Spruce and Meyer Orbach pay $387.5 million for the tower's 408 rental units

    In September 2022, property records filed with the city showed that Josh Gotlib's Black Spruce Management and Meyer Orbach had paid $387.5 million for the 408-unit rental portion of 685 First Avenue, bought from the late Sheldon Solow's firm. JPMorgan provided $290.6 million in financing. It was the first closing in a deal for six Manhattan apartment buildings with 1,766 units, priced at $1.75 billion. Their joint venture is called GO Partners.

    Source: therealdeal.com

  8. 2024

    Ireland buys a duplex penthouse for $8.5 million as its UN ambassador's residence

    In 2024 the government of Ireland paid $8.5 million for a penthouse condominium here, bought as a sponsor unit from the Soloviev Group. The duplex serves as the residence of Fergal Mythen, then Ireland's ambassador to the United Nations, and has four bedrooms and a private internal elevator.

    “…a penthouse condominium at 685 First Avenue was sold as a sponsor unit by the Soloviev Group to the government of Ireland for $8.5 million…”

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 26 buildings with stories in Murray Hill