- Year built
- 1951
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 343
- Floors
- 20
- Landmark
- Designated
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $1.5M
- Recent range
- $730K – $4.6M
- Listing discount
- 5.8%
- Recorded transfers
- 308
2 Fifth Avenue occupies the most geographically structural position on Lower Fifth Avenue: the immediate northwest corner of Washington Square Park, anchoring the residential frontage of Washington Square North at the Fifth Avenue terminus. Emery Roth & Sons designed the building for Samuel Rudin of Rudin Management in 1951–52 — the period when the postwar mid-century full-block residential building cycle was reshaping Lower Fifth Avenue, the Upper East Side, and the Upper West Side. The Rhinelander Mansions, which previously occupied the site, were demolished to make way for the new construction — a decision that produced substantial period preservation controversy and that became one of the structural catalysts for the broader Greenwich Village preservation movement that culminated in the 1969 GVHD designation.
The architectural register of the building is mid-century modern at its most consequential: a 20-story white-glazed-brick tower with a five-story red-brick Washington Square North wing connecting the tower to the residential frontage of the park's north side. The white-glazed-brick exterior places the building among the earliest New York residential applications of the material — following Manhattan House at 200 East 66th Street (1950) by approximately a year — and the curved private driveway off Fifth Avenue produces both a defining streetscape presence and the operational infrastructure for full-service building operations.
The building's most consequential cultural register is its long association with former New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch. After Koch's 1989 mayoral loss, the Rudin family — the building's developer — offered Koch an apartment at 2 Fifth in deference to his role as one of the city's most consequential 20th-century political figures. Koch lived at 2 Fifth from 1989 until his death on February 1, 2013, and the building was designated a cultural landmark by the Historic Landmark Preservation Center on December 12, 2013, in his honor. The Koch register is publicly documented, verifiable, and represents the building's deepest cultural-political association.
For buyers, 2 Fifth represents a particular position in the Lower Fifth Avenue market: Washington Square Park-front location, mid-century full-service operational character, and a buyer pool meaningfully shaped by the building's institutional history and political associations.
Architecture and unit composition
The approximately 343 residences distribute across the building's two distinct structural sections — the 20-story tower and the five-story Washington Square North wing. Apartments range from studios through large multi-bedroom configurations.
The tower's mid-century proportions, the white-glazed-brick exterior, and the curved private driveway define the building's architectural identity. The Washington Square North wing produces the architectural transition between the tower and the historic Washington Square North streetscape.
Building operations
2 Fifth operates as a full-service cooperative with full-time doorman, private curved circular driveway off Fifth Avenue, fitness room, on-site laundry, and adjacent garage facilities. The operational infrastructure is consistent with the building's institutional 343-unit scale.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $76,643/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $19
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2026 | 5B | 1 BA | $730,000 | -2.7% | |
| Jan 13, 2026 | 5F | 1 BR · 1 BA | $1,475,000 | -1.3% | |
| Dec 1, 2025 | 17R | 1 BR · 1 BA · private outdoor | $2,116,440 | -3.6% | |
| Nov 28, 2025 | 2E | 1 BA | $805,000 | -19.1% | |
| Nov 25, 2025 | 18C | 1 BR · 1.5 BA · private outdoor | $2,214,397 | -5.8% | |
| Oct 14, 2025 | 17H | 1 BR · 1 BA · 766 sf | $1,881,773 | $2,457/sf | -1.0% |
| Sep 26, 2025 | 4P | 2 BR · 2 BA · private outdoor | $2,450,000 | -1.8% | |
| Sep 25, 2025 | 11S | 1 BR · 1 BA · private outdoor | $1,800,000 | -2.7% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2025): a median $2,462/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 3.3% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2025 | 18L | $1,296,290 |
| Aug 1, 2025 | 5GH | $2,550,000 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | 1 | $2,291,279 |
| Jan 28, 2025 | 9R | $1,198,990 |
| Nov 19, 2024 | 2G | $965,569 |
| Nov 25, 2024 | 10F | $2,995,000 |
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 1-00551-0001) 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 Washington Square Park frontage is structural. No other Lower Fifth Avenue building offers comparable park frontage and proximity to the park's social and cultural infrastructure.
The mid-century construction produces full-service operational character. Doorman, driveway, garage, fitness — the institutional amenity package consistent with the postwar mid-century building cycle.
The 343-unit scale is meaningful. Substantially larger than the corridor's prewar boutique cooperatives, producing a fundamentally different building culture and operational character.
The Koch register is real cultural history. The mayor's residence from 1989 to 2013, the Historic Landmark Preservation Center cultural-landmark designation, and the broader political-institutional history of the building represent verifiable and meaningful cultural context.
Verify policy specifics during due diligence. Pet policy, pied-à-terre permissions, subletting framework, financing percentages, and flip-tax structure should all be confirmed against current management documents.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the Washington Square Park frontage and the cultural-institutional context. No other Lower Fifth Avenue building can claim equivalent park frontage; the Koch register and the Rudin family / Emery Roth & Sons architectural pedigree differentiate the building meaningfully within the corridor.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. The 343-unit inventory and the substantial variation in apartment configurations and exposures produces meaningful pricing variation; recent comparables on the specific apartment line 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 2 Fifth Avenue, also evaluate:
- One Fifth Avenue — Corbett 1927; corridor anchor; full-service prewar peer
- The Brevoort (11 Fifth Avenue) — Boak & Raad 1955; mid-century full-block postwar peer
- 24 Fifth Avenue — Emery Roth 1926; corridor peer
- 45 Fifth Avenue — Sugarman & Berger 1925; boutique prewar peer
- Manhattan House (200 East 66th Street) — UES mid-century glazed-brick peer; same period and architectural register
The Roebling Team at 2 Fifth Avenue
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 2 Fifth buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architectural attribution, board context, apartment-line comparable analysis — not generic neighborhood commentary.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Greenwich Village — read The Roebling Team Guide to Greenwich Village.
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