1045 Fifth Avenue
1045 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
Upper East Side
BBL 1014970073 · BIN 1046844
- Year built
- 1967
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 25
- Floors
- 14
- Financing
- 50% maximum
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- Recent range
- $2.1M – $2.1M
- Listing discount
- 5.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 16
1045 Fifth Avenue is unique on Museum Mile: the only mostly glass facade on Fifth Avenue north of 59th Street on the Upper East Side. The 1967 building by Horace Ginsbern is a mid-century gem at the moment when mainstream apartment design was moving away from masonry and toward glass. Ginsbern produced one of the more confident glass-curtain residential designs on the avenue. The full glass-front condition is unique on Museum Mile; from inside, every apartment becomes a frame for Central Park.
That all-glass facade is what makes the building structurally unique on Museum Mile, and it is reinforced by two quieter distinctions. Decades of combinations have pared the building down to a boutique 12-to-15-resident scale today, among the smallest of any prestige Fifth Avenue cooperative. And its flexible policy framework — welcomed pets, permitted pied-à-terre (notable for a Fifth Avenue cooperative), a 50% financing maximum, and a 3% transfer fee — gives the address a more accommodating posture than most of its peers.
The position between East 85th and East 86th Streets places 1045 Fifth on Museum Mile, directly facing Central Park and immediately adjacent to the Metropolitan Museum, with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum across the avenue.
Architecture and unit composition
The 1967 building by Horace Ginsbern for Manny Duell is a mid-century gem at the moment when mainstream apartment design was moving away from masonry and toward glass. public records quotes the May 7, 1967 New York Times: two-bedroom apartments rented for $620 to $650, and tenants had basement access to a 30-foot-deep rear garden "landscaped in the Japanese manner."
The full glass-front condition is unique on Museum Mile. Ginsbern's confident glass-curtain residential design was uncommon among 1960s Fifth Avenue construction — most peer postwar buildings of the period adopted limestone or brick-clad facades with conventional punched windows. The structural identity of 1045 Fifth rests on the architectural decision to commit fully to glass.
From inside, every apartment becomes a frame for Central Park. The boutique scale — 25 to 26 apartments originally, today as few as 12 to 15 residents after combinations — supports trophy-tier positioning. The 1980 cooperative conversion places the building in the second wave of postwar Fifth Avenue conversions.
Building operations
1045 Fifth operates as a smaller and more intimate Museum Mile cooperative:
- Full-time doorman
- Garden access
- Central laundry
- Bicycle storage
The boutique scale and the deliberately reserved operational posture support the building's identity as a mid-century architectural piece rather than an amenity-maximalist postwar tower.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $3,150/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $15
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2026 | 9B | 2 BR · 2 BA | $2,115,000 | -18.7% | |
| Feb 17, 2022 | PH | 4 BR · 4.5 BA | $8,500,000 | -29.2% | |
| May 13, 2015 | PH | 5 BR | $15,500,000 | +0.0% | |
| Apr 8, 2015 | 4B | 2 BR | $1,700,000 | -5.6% | |
| Mar 12, 2014 | 8AB | 5 BR · 5.5 BA | $5,720,000 | -11.9% | |
| Jan 3, 2007 | PRIVATE | 3 BR · 2,900 sf | $3,395,000 | $1,171/sf | +0.0% |
| Jul 28, 2006 | 7B | 2 BR · 1,650 sf | $1,695,000 | $1,027/sf | +0.0% |
| Jun 15, 2006 | 5 | 3 BR | $3,806,250 | -2.4% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2007): a median $1,171/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 4.0% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01497-0073) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
The all-glass facade is structurally unique on Museum Mile. No other Fifth Avenue cooperative north of 59th Street carries the same architectural-history credential.
The boutique 12-to-15-resident scale today is among the smallest of any prestige Fifth Avenue cooperative. Operational intimacy supports white-glove board posture.
The flexible policy framework — welcomed pets, permitted pied-à-terre, 50% financing — produces one of the more accommodating Museum Mile cooperative buyer profiles.
The 3% transfer fee is meaningful at closing. Verify buyer/seller burden allocation at offer stage.
The Museum Mile location is structurally valuable. Metropolitan Museum adjacent; Solomon R. Guggenheim across the avenue.
The mid-century architectural pedigree should be factored into the long-cycle ownership perspective. Glass-curtain facades require deliberate maintenance and may carry capital project pipeline considerations.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard. Plan for 6 to 10 weeks from contract through board approval to closing.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the all-glass facade as a structurally unique Museum Mile architectural feature. No peer building carries the same identity.
The Ginsbern architectural pedigree and the May 1967 New York Times origin coverage support historical positioning. Reference where appropriate.
The flexible policy framework expands the buyer pool. Position accordingly.
The Museum Mile location and the Metropolitan Museum / Guggenheim adjacency are real structural advantages. Use in inventory positioning materials.
Pricing should reference recent penthouse and apartment-line-specific comparables. The boutique scale means individual closings move building-wide pricing benchmarks.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 1045 Fifth Avenue, also evaluate:
- 1040 Fifth Avenue — Rosario Candela 1929; trophy Fifth Avenue Museum Mile peer
- 1030 Fifth Avenue — Sloan & Robertson 1926; Museum Mile peer
- 1060 Fifth Avenue — Museum Mile peer
- 1080 Fifth Avenue — Museum Mile peer
- 1001 Fifth Avenue — Philip Johnson / John Burgee 1979; Fifth Avenue postwar peer
Sources: The Roebling Research Library (offering plans, house rules, financial statements, board minutes, internal transaction records); NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers; publicly recorded NYC building data.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Fifth Avenue — read The Roebling Team Guide to Fifth Avenue.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at 1045 Fifth Avenue?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 1045 Fifth Avenue would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.