53 West 53rd Street (MoMA Tower)
53 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
- Year built
- 2019
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 145
- Floors
- 77
- Pets
- Permitted under condominium rules
- Subletting
- Permitted under the condominium declaration
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2020–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $2,379
- Listing discount
- 13.8%
- Recorded sales
- 154
- On record
- 2020–2026
53W53 — the MoMA Tower — is the most architecturally ambitious entry in the modern Billionaires' Row–adjacent supertall canon and the rare Manhattan trophy condominium designed by a Pritzker Prize–winning architect. Jean Nouvel — whose international portfolio includes the Louvre Abu Dhabi (2017), the Quai Branly Museum in Paris (2006), the National Museum of Qatar (2019), and the Philharmonie de Paris — designed 53W53 as a 1,050-foot tower with a defining concrete diagrid exterior structural frame, the most architecturally visible exterior structural system on any modern Manhattan supertall. The diagrid is not just decorative; it is the building's primary structural system, allowing the unusually slender silhouette and the inward-sloping north and south facades that culminate in five different-height spire crowns at the top of the building.
The relationship to the Museum of Modern Art is the building's defining cultural feature. Hines developed 53W53 in partnership with MoMA as part of the museum's expansion program — the lower floors (2, 4, and 5) contain MoMA gallery space integrated into the tower's base, including the Daylit Gallery on floor 2 and the Studio on floors 4 and 5. The arrangement is structural: the museum gets significant additional exhibition space; the tower gets the cultural anchor of MoMA's identity. Residents access their building from a residential entrance separated from the museum's public flow.
The development history is itself culturally significant. The project was originally announced in 2007 as Tower Verre at 1,250 feet — what would have been one of the tallest buildings ever in New York. The original design was shortened by 200 feet in 2009 following neighborhood protests over the height, and the revised 1,050-foot scheme proceeded to construction. The compromise produced the building that exists today and remains one of the more architecturally serious modern Manhattan supertalls. The construction window stretched from 2014 through 2020; sponsor sales commenced in 2015 and proceeded through the COVID-era market with meaningfully more inventory unsold at completion than peer supertalls — a fact that has shaped the building's secondary-market pricing posture.
For buyers, 53W53 represents the most architecturally distinguished entry in the modern supertall set. Where 432 Park reduces to a Viñoly square-tube minimalism, 220 CPS executes Stern's pre-war-styled classicism at supertall scale, One57 deploys de Portzamparc's blue-glass curtainwall, Central Park Tower optimizes for view altitude and amenity expansiveness, and 111 West 57th maximizes slenderness — 53W53 carries Nouvel's diagrid architectural argument and the MoMA cultural anchor. Each represents a different posture on what a Manhattan supertall should be; 53W53 is the most overtly architectural.
Architecture and unit composition
The 145 condominium residences span configurations from 1BR to 4–5 BR, distributed across the residential floors of the 77-story tower above the MoMA-integrated lower floors. Most apartments occupy a full or substantial portion of their floor given the relatively small footprint produced by the inward-sloping diagrid structure.
Thierry Despont's interior design specification is at the high end of 2019-era luxury supertall construction — substantial finish material, custom millwork, top-tier kitchens and primary bathrooms. The diagrid structural system is visible from within many apartments as a defining design element rather than a hidden engineering feature, an unusual architectural decision that places 53W53 in a different visual category from peer supertalls.
View altitude is exceptional — apartments at the upper end of the tower command unobstructed sight lines across Central Park (looking north), the Hudson, the East River, downtown, and Brooklyn. The five-spire crown creates particularly distinctive view envelopes for the topmost apartments. View permanence is essentially absolute given the substantial buildout of the surrounding Billionaires' Row corridor.
Building operations
53W53 operates as a luxury condominium with full-time doorman, 24-hour concierge, valet parking, and the broader amenity package. The amenity program is concentrated on floors 46–47 (the residents' lounge and private dining room) and across multiple amenity floors housing the 17,000 sf Wellness Center with the 65-foot swimming pool, fitness center, sauna and steam rooms, golf simulator, and squash court. The amenity program rivals Central Park Tower's in scale and exceeds most peer supertalls.
Common charges and property taxes are substantial. A 3,500 sf 3BR carries common charges in the $7,000–$11,000/month range plus property taxes that can run $5,000–$10,000/month. Total monthly carry on substantial apartments ranges $15,000–$25,000.
The 2020 completion date places 53W53 at the more recent end of the Billionaires' Row supertall corpus. The building has had a relatively smooth occupancy history with fewer documented operational issues than the older supertalls; the supertall-category risk profile applies, and buyers should review current building engineering reports and reserve studies during due diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $130,946/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $623,191/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $68 – $323
Recent sales
53W53 is in mid-correction. The 2026 transaction data is among the most newsworthy in Manhattan luxury condo right now. Four high-floor units closed in January–March 2026 at discounts ranging from 15.04% to 34.31% below their asking prices. The single most striking trade: #61A (3BR, 3,670 sf) closed January 29, 2026 at $15.3M — a 34.31% cut from the $23.29M asking price, the largest ask-to-close gap in the building's modern dataset and one of the most consequential supertall-condo correction datapoints in the city.
The pattern is consistent across the high-floor 'A' line: #54A closed at −26.70%, #49A at −16.61%, #33B at −15.04%. The 2025 cohort shows the same picture — #31A at −14.56%, #32C at −13.85%, #32B at −15.63%, #17A at −19.57%. In the modern resale era, discount-to-ask consistently clusters in the −15% to −25% range. That is the operative negotiating reality at 53W53 today.
The trophy PH inventory has not cleared. Penthouse-tier listings — #62 ($46.26M), #63 ($46.40M), #65 ($46.68M), #PH76 ($63.82M), and the half-floor PH74 / PH75 inventory above — have all listed and either failed to find a buyer at advertised pricing or transacted at —24% to —27% to ask (PH74 closed Oct 2021 at $26M against $35.46M ask; PH75 closed Jun 2022 at $24.995M against $33.1M ask). The supertall PH ceiling at 53W53 is being tested and rejected by the market.
The 2020 sponsor wave — roughly 25 closings in January–February 2020 just before the COVID lockdown — was the building's foundational pricing event. Many of those original contracts were signed in 2017–2019 at offering-plan numbers; the actual closings landed 10–25% below those original asks even in 2020, indicating sponsor pricing strategy was already softening before the broader correction set in.
What this means for transactions today:
- Buyers: 53W53 currently offers as much ask-to-close negotiating room as any major new-development condo in Manhattan. The 15–25% modern discount range is structural, not anomalous.
- Sellers: Pricing matters enormously. Listings posted at original sponsor numbers do not transact. Realistic mark-to-market pricing on entry produces faster, cleaner closings.
- Both sides should expect: meaningful days-on-market for high-floor inventory, off-market and pre-listing activity for the most consequential trades, and ongoing price discovery in the PH-tier inventory.
Recent closings 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2026 | 40C | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,396 sf | $5,850,000 | $2,442/sf | -25.0% |
| May 8, 2026 | 14E | 1 BA · 494 sf | $1,005,000 | $2,034/sf | -32.1% |
| May 8, 2026 | 34C | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 2,506 sf | $5,675,000 | $2,265/sf | -12.7% |
| May 8, 2026 | — | $6,680,000 | off-mkt | ||
| Mar 26, 2026 | 49A | 4 BR · 4.5 BA · 3,765 sf Closed Mar 23, 2026 at $12.8M — 16.61% under the $15.35M asking price. Part of a cluster of high-floor 53W53 condos transacting at 15–34% discounts to ask in early 2026. | $12,800,000 | $3,400/sf | -16.6% |
| Feb 26, 2026 | 19A | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,370 sf | $5,153,125 | $2,174/sf | -27.3% |
| Mar 13, 2026 | 33B | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,046 sf Closed Feb 6, 2026 at $4.8M — 15.04% under the $5.65M asking price. | $4,800,000 | $2,346/sf | -15.0% |
| Feb 5, 2026 | 61A | 3 BR · 3.5 BA · 3,670 sf Closed Jan 29, 2026 at $15.3M — 34.31% under the $23.29M asking price. The single largest ask-to-close discount in 53W53's modern dataset and one of the most striking 2026 luxury-condo correction datapoints in Manhattan. | $15,300,000 | $4,169/sf | -34.3% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $2,379/sf across 8 sales. Median listing discount 13.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 6, 2026 | 30A | $7,200,000 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 43F | $1,500,000 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | 14G | $2,150,000 |
| Feb 5, 2026 | 50D | $3,200,000 |
| Dec 15, 2025 | 10G | $2,195,200 |
| Dec 16, 2025 | 37A/F | $3,175,000 |
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 1-01269-7502) 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
The Nouvel architectural posture is the building. Buyers attentive to architectural identity should weight Nouvel's diagrid design, the inward-sloping facades, and the visible structural system as the building's defining feature. The architectural posture differs substantially from peer supertalls.
The MoMA integration is real and operational. The museum's gallery space occupies the lower floors of the building. Residents have a separated entrance but the building's overall identity is mixed-use cultural. Buyers who value art-museum proximity find this differentiating.
Pricing in the secondary market has been rational. The slow sponsor sales window means secondary-market pricing has settled into reasonable levels relative to original sponsor expectations. Comparable analysis should account for the building's specific transaction history rather than sponsor reference pricing.
Condo flexibility is real. 30–45 day closings; foreign buyers welcome; pied-à-terre and investment use permitted; subletting allowed.
Mansion tax cliff effects routinely apply. Run pricing through the Mansion Tax Calculator.
Carrying cost is substantial but contained. The 145-unit inventory and the substantial amenity program produce meaningful common-charge structure; model the full monthly carry carefully.
The amenity package is unusually deep. The 17,000 sf Wellness Center, the 65-foot pool, the squash court, golf simulator, and the floors 46–47 residents' lounge and dining infrastructure exceed most peer supertalls. Buyers who use these amenities find substantial value; buyers who don't pay for them indirectly through carrying cost.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing requires architectural literacy. The Nouvel pedigree, the diagrid, and the MoMA integration are differentiators that the typical comparable supertall doesn't carry. Listing copy should make use of these.
Pricing requires apartment-level context. View altitude, exposure, spire-crown proximity (for upper-floor inventory), and configuration all drive substantial pricing variation.
Closing timelines are condo-fast. 30–45 days from contract signing to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 53W53, also evaluate:
- One57 (157 West 57th) — de Portzamparc 2014 Billionaires' Row supertall
- 432 Park Avenue — Viñoly 2015 supertall; documented defect history
- 220 Central Park South — Stern 2018 classical limestone supertall
- Central Park Tower — Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill 2020; tallest residential in the world
- 111 West 57th (Steinway Tower) — SHoP 2021; thinnest skyscraper in the world
- 520 Park Avenue — Stern 2018; pre-war-styled Park Avenue trophy condo
- 15 Central Park West — Stern 2008 pre-war-styled condo on CPW
The Roebling Team at 53W53
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan trophy market — including the modern Billionaires' Row supertall corridor. We publish this building profile because trophy condo buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, operational reality, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 53W53, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.