1400 Fifth Avenue

An eight-story building in red brick between light-colored piers that rise two stories higher than the brick sections, over a light-colored two-story commercial base. Corner windows and framed openings in the brick bays give it more articulation than most Harlem new construction of its era. The lot runs the full 202-foot Fifth Avenue frontage and roughly 344 feet deep, with an interior courtyard garden behind the street wall.

The residences run from one-bedroom flats to multi-level townhouse residences. The townhouse units at the base and the seventh- and eighth-floor duplexes, several with terraces, are the building's distinct upper tier. The 39 parking units were offered first to residential purchasers; two were sold to the condominium as accessible spaces.

The commercial unit occupies the cellar and first floor. Under the plan, its owner may subdivide or recombine it and use it for any lawful purpose without board approval, and it shares only in general, not residential, common expenses. It is held by a sponsor-affiliated entity; press coverage reported a 2012 refinancing by the developer.

The condominium has long been owner-controlled. The sponsor holds no residences, per ACRIS; the condominium owns the superintendent's unit and the two accessible parking units.

One structural point from the offering plan deserves a direct question. The plan contemplated permanent financing in which the Board of Managers would assign to HDC its right to receive common charges, agree to raise them at HDC's direction, and not reduce them without HDC consent. Ask the managing agent whether any HDC loan or assignment of common charges remains in force, and read the current audited statements, reserve position and Local Law 11 facade status. Also ask about compliance with the 421-a building-service prevailing-wage requirement. HPD has enforced it against other condominiums on this corridor.

This section summarizes the offering plan. The recorded Regulatory Agreement and each unit's own deed and subsidy documents control, and a buyer's attorney must read them.

Primary residence — all residences. Each residential deed contains a covenant that for 25 years the purchaser and its successors and assigns will continuously occupy the unit as a primary residence. Good-faith absences are allowed. The covenant permits leasing for no more than two years in any four-year period. In practice this rules out pied-à-terre and investor ownership while the covenant runs. Most original closings were in 2004 and 2005, so on most units the covenant runs to 2029 or 2030. Confirm the start date from the specific deed.

Regulated units — resale. The condominium is subject to a Regulatory Agreement with HDC. Per the plan, any resale of a regulated unit requires HDC's consent. A resale buyer of an income-restricted unit must have household income no higher than 250 percent of area median income, set by HDC, and must reaffirm eligibility at closing. An owner of a regulated unit must move in within 60 days of closing. Transfer by inheritance to a non-qualifying person is allowed, but later sales remain subject to the limits.

Public subsidy — repayment. Each regulated purchaser's subsidy is a standing loan with no interest or payments. It is forgiven by one twenty-fifth for each full year the owner occupies the unit as a primary residence. On resale, the owner repays from the sale 100 percent of the appreciation within three years of the initial purchase, and 50 percent thereafter, capped at the remaining subsidy balance. On a refinance, 50 percent of the refinancing profit is due, up to the balance. After two decades, most original balances are largely forgiven. Whether a given unit's subsidy mortgage is open, reduced or satisfied is a title question; ACRIS records many satisfactions.

How many units are regulated. Schedule A of the plan designates each unit. The OCR of Schedule A in the copy on file is not reliable enough to publish a count. ACRIS shows six-figure City subsidy mortgages on about two-thirds of the residences at first sale, which is consistent with a regulated majority. Confirm the designation of any specific unit from the Regulatory Agreement.

Flip tax / resale contribution: Not documented in the material reviewed. Confirm with the managing agent, together with pet rules and the sublet procedure within the covenant's two-in-four limit.

Real estate taxes — the 421-a, with the years. The Department of Finance exemption file carries exemption code 5114, the 25-year 421-a, on all 169 lots, with a 2001 base year, a benefit start of fiscal 2007 and the benefit at 100 percent on the fiscal 2027 roll. The 25-year program for Manhattan north of 110th Street exempts 100 percent of the increase in assessed value for 21 years, then steps the exemption down by 20 points a year for four years. From a fiscal 2007 start, fiscal 2027, the year ending June 2027, is the last full-benefit year. The benefit falls to 80 percent in fiscal 2028, 60 in 2029, 40 in 2030 and 20 in 2031, with full taxation from fiscal 2032 (July 2031). The exemption covers only the increase above the 2001 base value.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01599-7501) 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.

Find out which category the unit is in before anything else. Income-restricted, price-restricted or unrestricted. The answer sets your eligibility, HDC's role at closing, and what the seller owes the City.

You must live there. The deed covenant requires primary residence and caps leasing at two years in four. If the plan is a pied-à-terre or a rental, confirm the covenant has expired on that specific deed.

Price the tax step-up now. The first 421-a reduction takes effect in July 2027. Full taxes arrive four years later. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator on the fiscal 2032 number, not today's.

Ask about HDC's role in the common charges. Confirm whether any HDC financing or assignment of common charges remains in force.

Get the subsidy payoff figure early. On a regulated unit, the recapture is a share of your appreciation, capped at the remaining balance. Order the calculation from the City before pricing so the net is not a surprise at closing.

Build HDC consent into the timeline. A regulated resale does not close without it. Tell the buyer's attorney at the outset.

Correct the city data. PLUTO's 175 units and the "HDFC" label both show up in automated reports. The building is a 129-residence condominium with 39 parking units and one commercial unit.

If you're considering 1400 Fifth Avenue, also evaluate:

• 1831 Madison Avenue (Madison Park Apartments) — a publicly assisted HDFC cooperative of almost identical size and vintage, with a 25-year 421-a also near its end; the cooperative version of the same public-assistance model
• 313 West 119th Street (Brownstone Lane II) — HPD-assisted mixed-income condominium with an enforcement mortgage and a 25-year primary-residence requirement on original buyers
• 2280 Frederick Douglass Boulevard — later HPD-assisted mixed-income condominium with five more years of full 421-a
• 23 West 116th Street (The Adeline) — market-rate condominium just across 116th Street
• 1485 Fifth Avenue (5th on the Park) — the larger Fifth Avenue condominium of the next cycle, north at Marcus Garvey Park
• 111 Central Park North — market-rate condominium on Central Park North
• 145 Central Park North — newer parkfront condominium
• 380 Lenox Avenue (The Lenox) — market-rate GF55 condominium of the same cycle on Lenox
• The Kalahari (40 West 116th Street) — the same developer's second Harlem condominium, on the same block