- Year built
- 1954
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 296
- Floors
- 19
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Permitted under cooperative rules (verify at offer stage)
The Brevoort is the most consequential mid-century postwar cooperative on Lower Fifth Avenue and one of the defining full-block residential buildings of the postwar era in Greenwich Village. The building was developed by Sam Minskoff & Sons in 1954–55 on the site of the demolished Hotel Brevoort and named in deliberate reference to the historic institution that previously occupied the address. The Hotel Brevoort had been one of the most consequential hotel-era addresses in downtown Manhattan — the site where Charles Lindbergh received the $25,000 Orteig Prize on June 17, 1927, for his solo transatlantic flight; the residential and dining destination for an entire stratum of literary, artistic, and political New York from the late 19th century through the 1940s.
Boak & Raad's 1954–55 design produced a structurally distinct architectural object: a 19–20 story mid-century tower in glazed light-toned brick, with twin wings flanking a private semi-circular driveway off Fifth Avenue — a configuration that today produces both the building's defining streetscape presence and the operational infrastructure (driveway, doorman station, garage entry) that supports its full-service amenity program.
The Brevoort's cultural significance is anchored by Buddy Holly's residency in 1958–59. Holly leased Apartment 4H — a corner unit with a wraparound terrace — at approximately $1,000 per month and recorded the final tracks of his career there before his death in a February 1959 plane crash. The "Apartment Tapes" Holly produced at 11 Fifth Avenue, including "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and "Peggy Sue Got Married," remain among the most listened-to recordings in early rock-and-roll history.
For buyers, The Brevoort represents a particular position in the Lower Fifth Avenue market: full-block mid-century scale, deep amenity infrastructure, the historical and cultural register of the site, and pricing materially more accessible than the trophy prewar inventory of comparable architectural significance.
Architecture and unit composition
The 296 cooperative apartments distribute across the building's 19–20 stories in configurations ranging from studios through 4-bedrooms. The building's most distinctive apartment idiom is the corner unit with wraparound terrace — the configuration that Buddy Holly leased and that remains among the building's most consequential apartment types.
The mid-century facade is glazed beige/light brick — a material specification consistent with the broader white-brick mid-century cooperative idiom that defined the postwar Manhattan residential building cycle. The semi-circular driveway off Fifth Avenue is a signature operational and architectural feature.
Building operations
The Brevoort operates as a full-service cooperative with 24-hour doorman and concierge, on-site resident manager, fitness center, parking garage, bike room, storage facilities, on-site laundry, planted rooftop terrace, and recently modernized co-generator emergency power infrastructure. The amenity package is among the most substantial on Lower Fifth Avenue.
Recent sales
Recent closed sales at The Brevoort (replace with current ACRIS data at the time of marketing):
| Unit | Configuration | Closing Date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3G | — | March 21, 2024 | $2,550,000 |
| 4G | — | May 22, 2024 | $2,844,575 |
| 9T | — | April 21, 2025 | $2,100,000 |
Sales context: active resale market reflecting the building's 296-unit scale; pricing varies meaningfully by exposure (Fifth Avenue versus rear), terrace presence, and floor.
What to know if you’re buying
The full-block scale and the amenity program are the value proposition. The Brevoort offers a depth of building services — driveway, garage, fitness, doorman / concierge / resident manager — materially exceeding the typical Lower Fifth Avenue prewar cooperative.
The corner-unit terrace configurations are the building's defining apartment idiom. Buyers prioritizing outdoor space should focus on the corner units with wraparound terraces.
The cooperative is structurally distinct from the prewar corridor peers. The Brevoort's mid-century construction, full-block scale, and 296-unit inventory produce a fundamentally different building culture than the smaller boutique prewar cooperatives that define most of Lower Fifth Avenue.
Verify cooperative-conversion specifics at offer stage. Source conflict between 1969 and 1981 cooperative conversion; the operational and offering-plan baseline should be confirmed directly with the managing agent.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the historic-site context. The Hotel Brevoort, Lindbergh's Orteig Prize ceremony, and Buddy Holly's 1958–59 residency in Apt 4H are publicly documented and verifiable — material that meaningfully differentiates the building in the marketing process.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. Active 296-unit market produces a meaningful comparable inventory; recent closings on the specific apartment line and exposure should anchor positioning.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard. Plan for 60–90 days from contract through approval to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Brevoort, also evaluate:
- One Fifth Avenue — Corbett 1927; corridor anchor; full-service prewar peer
- 2 Fifth Avenue — Emery Roth & Sons 1951–52; mid-century postwar corridor peer; Washington Square North position
- 45 Fifth Avenue — Sugarman & Berger 1925; boutique prewar peer
- 24 Fifth Avenue — Emery Roth 1926; former Fifth Avenue Hotel; Brodsky-managed prewar peer
The Roebling Team at The Brevoort
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Lower Fifth Avenue corridor as part of our broader Park-facing Manhattan practice. We publish this building profile because Brevoort buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architectural attribution, board context, apartment-line comparable analysis — not generic neighborhood commentary.