535 Park Avenue
535 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1013960001 · BIN 1041961
- Year built
- 1909
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 31
- Floors
- 15
- Financing
- Up to 40% financeable (60% minimum down).
- Subletting
- Not permitted — an owner-occupancy building.
- Pied-à-terre
- Permitted.
Compiled by The Roebling Research Desk from the building’s offering plan, amendments, and related building documents (primary source dated 2026). Board policies can change by amendment — confirm at the offer stage.
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 2BR median
- $3.9M
- Recent range
- $1.6M – $8.5M
- Listing discount
- 5.7%
- Recorded transfers
- 41
535 Park Avenue is one of the earliest cooperatively organized apartment buildings on Park Avenue — a structural fact often overlooked because the modern Park Avenue cooperative canon (Candela, Cross & Cross 1920s-1930s) overshadows the 1910 founding cycle. The corner site at 61st and Park was acquired in early 1909 by a corporation called Number 535 Park Avenue, organized by the future owners themselves rather than by a conventional real-estate developer.
What gives 535 Park one of the more historically distinctive ownership profiles on the corridor begins with its earliest-coop pedigree: continuously a cooperative since 1909-1910, it predates every Candela, Cross & Cross, and Schwartz & Gross prewar building on Park Avenue. The architectural composition by Herbert Lucas places it in good company — the same architect designed The Marquand at 11 East 68th Street, One Lexington Avenue, and 24 Gramercy Park South. And the policy flexibility is unusual for the address: pied-à-terre ownership is permitted (notable for a prewar Park Avenue coop), pets are welcome, and the boutique 31-unit scale keeps operations intimate.
Christopher Gray's August 1, 2013 "Streetscapes" column in The New York Times ("Ring Around the Collar at 535 Park Avenue") provides the canonical published history of the building.
Architecture and unit composition
The corner site at 61st and Park was acquired in early 1909 by a corporation called Number 535 Park Avenue, organized by the future owners themselves. The New York Times in May 30, 1909 ("Rebuilding Upper Park Avenue") characterized the project as a step to "reimprove the north section of Park Avenue.", "half of its units were being rented by the owners" — a model inherited from the 1880s-1890s "home club" tradition pioneered at the Rembrandt and the Hubert Home Clubs.
The architect Herbert Lucas drew from his earlier work at 24 Gramercy Park South — splayed lintels, simple brick, half-oval balconies — and applied a Georgian / Colonial Revival vocabulary at scale. The defining and most-debated feature is the white glazed terra-cotta two-and-a-half-story rusticated base contrasting against red brick above. The Architectural Record in January 1911 issued one of the period's harshest reviews of the building: "It aims at the palatial and attains the sham-palatial." The anonymous reviewer denounced the projecting cornice as "huge, umbrageous, unmeaning, irrelevant" and characterized the building's red-brick / white-terra-cotta combination as "cheap finery," pronouncing the building "Palazzo Spotti." Architectural records dry response in his public records: "That writer obviously was having a bad hair day."
Christopher Gray's August 2013 New York Times "Streetscapes" column provides the canonical published history of the building, sourcing the 1909 NYT report, the Architectural Record critique, and the Lucas / Gramercy Park South linkage. The building has been continuously a cooperative since 1909-1910, making it one of the oldest continuously operating cooperatives in Manhattan.
Apartments feature 10.5-foot ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, decorative wrought-iron balconies, and historic interior detail. Apartment 15A includes a 66-foot-long terrace per architectural records's public records. The building was modernized in recent years with new roof, boiler, electric windows, and common-area windows.
Building operations
535 Park operates as a full-service Lenox Hill cooperative with the following operational baseline:
- 24-hour doorman
- Elevator operator (the building retains the white-glove operator tradition)
- Live-in superintendent
- Common roof deck
- Resident storage
- Central laundry
- No on-site garage; no health club / fitness center
The building's historical operational posture is "white-glove minimal" rather than amenity-maximalist — a positioning consistent with the 1909-1910 vintage and the early-cooperative tradition. The common roof deck is the principal modern-amenity layer.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $14,812/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $40
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
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 →Management & transfer contacts
- Sublet policy
- Not allowed
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 2025 | 14C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,730 sf | $3,850,000 | $2,225/sf | -3.7% |
| Apr 28, 2025 | 4AB | 3 BR · 4 BA | $3,950,000 | -10.1% | |
| Aug 14, 2023 | 6B | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,600,000 | +0.0% | |
| Aug 14, 2023 | 7AB | 3 BR · 2.5 BA | $4,250,000 | -7.6% | |
| May 18, 2021 | 2C | 2 BR · 3 BA · 1,660 sf | $2,000,000 | $1,205/sf | -11.1% |
| Apr 27, 2021 | 10C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,600 sf | $2,900,000 | $1,813/sf | -21.4% |
| Nov 19, 2020 | 12C | 2 BR · 2 BA | $2,300,000 | -36.1% | |
| Jun 24, 2019 | 8AB | 3 BR · 3.5 BA | $4,500,000 | -23.7% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2025): a median $2,225/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 3.8% 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.
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 1-01396-0001) 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 selling
Marketing should emphasize the earliest-coop pedigree and the Lucas architectural credential. Both are real structural advantages over peer Lenox Hill cooperative inventory.
The permitted pied-à-terre policy supports a broader buyer pool than most peer Park Avenue prewar cooperatives. Position accordingly.
The 66-foot-long terrace at apartment 15A and the building's 10.5-foot ceilings are marketable structural features. Reference in positioning materials.
The roof deck and elevator-operator amenity layer combines modern access with prewar tradition. Both are marketable.
Pricing should reference recent comparable Lenox Hill prewar cooperative closings. Apartment-line-specific comparables should anchor positioning; the boutique scale means individual closings move building-wide pricing benchmarks.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 535 Park Avenue, also evaluate:
- 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 corner Park Avenue / 61st Street peer
- 502 Park Avenue (Trump Park Avenue) — Goldner & Goldner 1929 hotel / Kondylis 2005 condominium; immediate Park Avenue / 59th-60th area peer
- 610 Park Avenue (The Mayfair) — Carpenter 1925 / Kondylis 1998 condominium; nearby prewar-into-condominium peer
- 620 Park Avenue (The Palacio) — Carpenter 1924; nearby Lenox Hill prewar coop peer
Sources: The Roebling Research Library (offering plans, house rules, financial statements, board minutes, internal transaction records); NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers; publicly recorded NYC building data.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Park Avenue — read The Roebling Team Guide to Park Avenue.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at 535 Park Avenue?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
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A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 535 Park Avenue would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.