- Year built
- 2000
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 36
- Floors
- 43
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted under condominium rules
- Subletting
- Permitted under the condominium declaration
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
515 Park Avenue is the building that established the modern Zeckendorf trophy condominium template. Completed in 2000, 515 Park was the Zeckendorf brothers' first major new-construction luxury condominium project on Park Avenue itself — and the design-development pairing of Zeckendorf with architect Frank Williams produced a building that meaningfully extended the Park Avenue luxury residential tradition into the new-construction condominium format.
The building's design argument is the precursor to the broader "pre-war classical executed at modern engineering scale" thesis that would become the Zeckendorf signature. At 515 Park, Frank Williams' design references the surrounding Park Avenue pre-war cooperative inventory through limestone cladding, brick body, classical detailing, and the apartment-house scale that the pre-war Park Avenue tradition pioneered. The building's 43-story height and 36-residence configuration produced apartments substantially larger than typical modern condominium scales — most units are full-floor or half-floor configurations exceeding 5,000 sf, approaching the pre-war full-floor cooperative experience.
The building's role in the modern Manhattan luxury condominium market is structural. The Zeckendorf-Williams pairing at 515 Park established several conventions that would subsequently define the modern Park-Fifth-CPS-CPW trophy condominium corpus:
- Small unit counts (36 at 515 Park; 202 at 15 CPW; 33 at 520 Park; 100 at 220 CPS) — meaningfully smaller than supertall peers (One57: 92; 432 Park: 147; Central Park Tower: 179)
- Large apartment scales approaching pre-war full-floor cooperative configurations
- Pre-war-styled architectural language rather than glass-curtain-wall modernism
- Limestone (and limestone-detailed brick) cladding rather than precast concrete or glass
- Intimate amenity programs rather than maximalist supertall amenity floors
The 8-year gap between 515 Park (2000) and 15 Central Park West (2008) is structural: 15 CPW is widely viewed as the modern condominium building that opened the trophy era, but 515 Park was the structural precursor — established by the same Zeckendorf development team and a sympathetic architectural firm (Frank Williams in place of Robert A.M. Stern Architects at 15 CPW).
For buyers, 515 Park represents a particular position in the modern condominium market: the earliest new-construction Park Avenue trophy condo, intimate 36-residence scale, mostly full-floor configurations, central Park Avenue / 60th Street positioning at the seam between the Gold Coast Lenox Hill corridor and the Plaza District / Midtown East luxury hospitality cluster (Sherry-Netherland, The Pierre, The Plaza, Plaza Athénée).
Architecture and unit composition
The 36 condominium residences distribute across the 43-story tower with substantial floor plates. The mostly full-floor and half-floor configurations produce apartments substantially larger than typical modern condominium configurations — most units exceed 5,000 sf and many include private elevator vestibules. Upper-floor configurations and penthouses include terraces and exceptional view altitudes.
Frank Williams' signatures throughout: substantial ceiling heights, formal entry galleries, library-living combinations, primary suites with full closet and dressing infrastructure, formal dining rooms with butler's pantries, service wings — the pre-war architectural vocabulary executed with modern building systems and finishes.
The limestone-clad lower floors and limestone-detailed brick body above place 515 Park in the same material-specification tradition as 740 Park (pre-war) and 520 Park (modern). The building's facade is meaningfully more substantial than glass-curtain-wall peers.
View altitude is exceptional at the upper floors — looking north across Central Park, east across the East 60s, south across Midtown, west across Fifth Avenue and the Plaza District.
Building operations
515 Park operates as a luxury condominium with 24-hour doorman, concierge, valet parking, and the standard luxury-condo amenity package (fitness center, pool, spa, residents' lounge, private dining, screening room, library). The amenity program is appropriately scaled to the building's 36-residence count — intimate rather than maximalist.
Common charges and property taxes are substantial. A 5,000 sf full-floor apartment carries combined common charges and property taxes in the $15,000–$25,000+ monthly range depending on specific configuration and assessment.
The 36-unit scale produces moderate annual transaction volume — typically 3–5 transactions per year.
Recent sales
Last 5–10 closed sales at 515 Park Avenue (replace this section with current ACRIS data — pull at publication time and refresh quarterly):
[Recent sales table to be populated from ACRIS]
Sales context at 515 Park:
- Pricing reflects the trophy condominium tier — full-floor apartments transact in the $10M–$25M+ range; smaller configurations and lower floors in the $5M–$10M range
- Penthouse and upper-tower configurations command pricing meaningfully above the average
- Public listing through StreetEasy and Compass private exclusive is standard
What to know if you’re buying
The 2000 vintage is structurally distinctive. 515 Park pre-dates the broader modern trophy condominium era by 8+ years. Buyers should understand the building is older than peer supertall and pre-war-styled condominiums — but the build quality and Zeckendorf development standard are consistent with the subsequent Zeckendorf body of work.
The 36-unit scale produces an unusually intimate buyer pool. Closer to a pre-war Gold Coast cooperative experience than a typical modern condominium. Limited inventory means slower turnover.
Apartment scale approaches pre-war full-floor configurations. Most units are 5,000+ sf full-floor or half-floor layouts. Buyers should evaluate apartments at this scale rather than indexing against 1,500–3,000 sf supertall standards.
Condo flexibility is real. 30–45 day closings; foreign buyers welcome; pied-à-terre and investment use permitted; subletting allowed.
Confirm specific policies directly with management. Current building condition, pet policy details, sublet specifics, common charge levels, and capital expenditure pipeline should be verified during contract review.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the Zeckendorf legacy. Listing copy should reference the Zeckendorf-Williams pairing, 515 Park's position as the precursor to the broader modern trophy condo era, the intimate 36-unit scale, and the full-floor apartment configurations.
Pricing requires apartment-level context. The small inventory means comparable analysis depends on small samples; floor altitude, exposure, and configuration drive substantial pricing variation.
Closing timelines are condo-fast. 30–45 days from contract signing to closing.
The Roebling Team at 515 Park
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan trophy market. We publish this building profile because trophy condo buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architectural context, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
We hold first-party documentation on 515 Park Avenue, including the original Offering Plan in the Roebling Real Estate Library. This allows us to advise buyers and sellers with substantially greater accuracy than building-name-recognition alone permits.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 515 Park, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.