- Year built
- 1922
- Financing
- 50% maximum
485 Park Avenue is one of the earliest pure-prewar Park Avenue cooperatives — built in 1922 by Dwight P. Robinson & Co. at the very beginning of the great Park Avenue prewar construction cycle, three to four years before Rosario Candela's debut and the Cross & Cross luxury wave. The building's structural identity rests on three features that together produce one of the most architecturally elegant and operationally flexible boutique addresses on Park Avenue south of 60th Street.
First, the 1922 vintage — placing 485 Park among the first generation of purpose-built luxury cooperatives on the corridor, alongside the earliest J.E.R. Carpenter and George Pelham work. Second, the boutique 23-unit scale — only 23 apartments distributed across 14 floors, with two apartments per floor and the option to combine A and B lines for a full floor of approximately 4,000 square feet. Third, the policy flexibility — pied-à-terre is permitted with board approval (a posture rare for Park Avenue cooperatives), pets are welcome, and financing of up to 50% is now allowed (a recent policy change from the historically more restrictive 25%-40% prewar Park Avenue norm).
The location at the northeast corner of 58th Street and Park Avenue is among the most central on the corridor — immediately south of Trump Park Avenue at 502 Park and across from the Lever House / Seagram Building corporate Madison Avenue corridor.
Architecture and unit composition
Built in 1922 by Dwight P. Robinson & Co. — a prominent 1920s NYC builder — 485 Park Avenue replaced some pre-existing garages on the site. The building's 1922 vintage places it at the very beginning of the great Park Avenue prewar construction cycle, three to four years before Rosario Candela's debut and the Cross & Cross luxury wave.
The architectural posture is deliberately restrained: a three-story rusticated limestone base, light-beige brick above, canopied entrance with bronze doors, and landscaped sidewalks. Carter Horsley described it (December 23, 2011) as a "handsome, 14-story building" with a "superb location" and a "very elegant" lobby — though noting "inconsistent fenestration and some protruding air-conditioners." The building was converted to cooperative ownership in 1945, placing it in the earliest postwar conversion wave that swept Park Avenue from the late 1940s through the 1960s. The corporate name 58th and Park Avenue, Inc. has been the holding entity since conversion.
The unit configuration is structurally elegant: two apartments per floor with the option to combine A and B for a full floor. The A line is an 8-room / 3-bath layout with 3 or 4 bedrooms plus 2 servant's rooms. The B line is a 7-room / 3-bath layout with 2 or 3 bedrooms plus 1 servant's room. The servant's-room configuration is consistent with the building's 1922 vintage and the staffed-household standard of early-prewar Park Avenue — though most servant's rooms have been incorporated into family-living configurations over the past several decades.
Building operations
485 Park operates as a full-service Midtown East cooperative with the following operational baseline:
- Full-time doorman and attended lobby
- Concierge (per CityRealty amenity list)
- Live-in resident manager
- Private storage for each apartment (a notable amenity for a 23-unit prewar)
- Bicycle storage
- Elevator (manual elevator with operator was historically standard; verify current configuration)
- No balconies; no health club / fitness center; no on-site garage
The building's operational posture is calibrated to its boutique 23-unit scale — white-glove service and discretion over amenity-maximalism. The per-apartment private storage is a real differentiator at this unit count.
Recent sales
CityRealty's recent-closing data shows approximately $660 per square foot across two recent closings — a notable level reflecting the building's combination of central-Midtown adjacency and cooperative financial structure. Apartment 1B is currently listed at $2,000,000 via Brown Harris Stevens. Apartment-level closing detail (BBL 1-01313 series) should be sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers at production time.
What to know if you’re buying
The 1922 vintage and boutique 23-unit scale are structurally distinguishing. Among the earliest pure-prewar Park Avenue cooperatives; the unit count places 485 Park in the most boutique tier of the corridor.
The recently updated 50% financing policy is materially advantageous. Prior to the update, financing on Park Avenue prewar cooperatives was historically capped at 25% to 40%; the 50% policy materially expands the buyer pool.
The permitted-with-approval pied-à-terre posture is uncommon for a Park Avenue prewar coop of this scale. Plan for board review of any pied-à-terre use case at the application stage.
The full-floor combination option (A + B for ~4,000 sf) is structurally available. This produces meaningful upside for buyers seeking trophy full-floor configurations at a more accessible scale than peer Carnegie Hill / 79th Street prewar inventory.
The private per-apartment storage is a real amenity at this unit count. Verify storage allocation transfers with the apartment.
The boutique 23-unit scale produces strong board posture and substantial liquidity requirements. Plan for full financial and personal-reference disclosure at application; substantial post-closing reserves typical of Park Avenue white-glove cooperatives apply.
The fenestration variance noted by Horsley should be verified during walkthrough. Window-replacement history varies across the inventory; some apartments carry original-vintage configuration, others modernized.
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 updated 50% financing policy and the permitted pied-à-terre posture. Both are structural advantages over peer 1922-vintage Park Avenue cooperative inventory.
The Dwight P. Robinson developer pedigree and the 1922 vintage are real institutional context. Position accordingly.
The boutique 23-unit scale and the A-line / B-line full-floor combination option are marketable structural features. Reference in positioning materials.
Pricing should reference the recent ~$660 per square foot CityRealty closing data and the Brown Harris Stevens 1B listing at $2,000,000. Apartment-line-specific comparables should anchor positioning.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 485 Park Avenue, also evaluate:
- 502 Park Avenue (Trump Park Avenue) — Goldner & Goldner 1929 hotel / Kondylis 2005 condominium; immediate Park Avenue / 59th Street peer
- 510 Park Avenue — F.H. Dewey 1925 boutique prewar coop; immediate Park Avenue / 60th-61st area peer
- 530 Park Avenue — Pelham Jr. 1940 / Aby Rosen 2013 condominium conversion; immediate Park Avenue / 61st Street peer
- 535 Park Avenue — Herbert Lucas 1910 boutique prewar coop; immediate Park Avenue / 61st Street peer
- 500 Park Avenue — Pei Cobb Freed condominium tower; immediate Park Avenue / 59th Street area peer
The Roebling Team at 485 Park Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because boutique Park Avenue cooperative buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architectural attribution, board posture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 485 Park, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Corey Cohen · The Roebling Team at Compass 646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com
Sources: CityRealty (Carter Horsley review, December 23, 2011); Compass building data; Brown Harris Stevens listings; Corcoran building page; NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01313 series).