635 Park Avenue (The Adelaide)
635 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1014000069 · BIN 1042448
- Year built
- 1912
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 16
- Floors
- 13
- Landmark
- Designated
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 4BR+ median
- $8.3M
- Recent range
- $6.8M – $8.3M
- Listing discount
- 15.1%
- Recorded transfers
- 17
635 Park Avenue is one of the architecturally most consequential J.E.R. Carpenter Park Avenue commissions and the building whose floor plans Paul Goldberger ranked among his "Top 10 Great City Apartment Buildings" in a 1977 New York Times review. The building was developed by Spencer Fullerton Weaver — the same developer behind 630 and 640 Park — during Carpenter's most productive Park Avenue years, when he was establishing the apartment-house archetype that would define the avenue's Golden Age. Carpenter's Park Avenue body of work is among the most concentrated single-architect runs in Manhattan: 550, 580, 625, 630, 640, 655, 812, 950, 960, and 1050 Park, plus a near-equal Fifth Avenue catalog.
The current 635 Park Avenue replaced an earlier Henry Janeway Hardenbergh-designed apartment house of the same name — "The Adelaide" — a pedigree the building has chosen to retain. Hardenbergh, the architect of The Dakota and the original Plaza Hotel, established the architectural identity that the Carpenter-designed building has continued under the same name.
The exterior is famously restrained — the lunette panels above the second-floor windows, the broad bandcourse above the third floor, the balustrade course at the 12th, and the richly arched cornice together produce an architectural composition Architectural records describe as distinguished but not the building's headline. The building's contemporary cultural reputation rests on what's inside.
Architecture and unit composition
The 16 apartments are organized one per floor for most of the building's height. Each typical apartment is built around a 13.5-foot-diameter circular foyer that visually quotes the rotunda of a Beaux-Arts townhouse. From that foyer the entertaining spaces unfold: a 30-foot living room, a 27-foot dining room, an 18-foot salon. A side corridor leads to four master bedrooms; kitchen, pantry, and four staff rooms are zoned behind. Andrew Alpern, in Apartments for the Affluent, called this division of public, private, and service zones the closest a Park Avenue floor-through ever came to a true townhouse plan. Paul Goldberger's 1980 Times column described 635 Park's floor plan and the contemporaneous 580 Park floor plan as "two of the best floor plans in Manhattan."
The architecturally consequential floor plan is the structural feature buyers should understand at the start of any prospective transaction.
Building operations
635 Park operates as a small-scale full-service cooperative with full-time doorman, elevator operators (the building retains attended elevator service), live-in superintendent, and private storage. The building does not carry an on-site garage, fitness center, or roof deck — the operational baseline reflects the service-traditional pre-war Park Avenue tradition rather than contemporary amenity expectations.
The cooperative culture is institutional and consistent with the trophy pre-war Park Avenue tradition. Specific board policies on financing, flip tax, pet rules, pied-à-terre allowance, and sublet duration should be verified directly during due diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $34,558/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $180
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 →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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2025 | 9 | 4 BR · 4 BA | $8,250,000 | -13.2% | |
| Oct 21, 2024 | 8 | 5 BR · 4.5 BA | $6,750,000 | -6.9% | |
| Aug 3, 2022 | 2 | 3 BR · 4.5 BA | $9,700,000 | -11.8% | |
| Jul 12, 2021 | — | 5 BR · 4 BA | $11,300,000 | -16.3% | |
| Jul 12, 2021 | 11 | 5 BR · 4 BA | $11,100,000 | -17.7% | |
| Nov 14, 2018 | 6 | 5 BR · 5.5 BA | $8,300,000 | -17.0% | |
| Sep 27, 2018 | 4 | 4 BR · 6.5 BA · 4,550 sf | $11,000,000 | $2,418/sf | -26.7% |
| Jun 2, 2004 | MAIS | 2 BR | $2,350,000 | +0.0% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2018): a median $2,418/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 14.7% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
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 1-01400-0069) 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 Carpenter architectural pedigree is real and substantial. Among the architect's most consequential Park Avenue commissions; the Goldberger floor-plan recognition is documented in the historical record.
The one-apartment-per-floor configuration is structural. Among Carpenter's smallest-scale Park Avenue commissions; the 16-residence intimate scale produces a corresponding institutional cooperative culture.
The floor plan is the architectural-historical feature. The 13.5-foot circular foyer, the 30-foot living room, the 27-foot dining room, the 18-foot salon — the floor plan is the building's structural identity feature, not the façade.
Inventory turnover is among the slowest on the corridor. The 16-unit scale produces minimal annual transaction volume; recent comparable analysis depends on small samples.
Verify operational specifics during due diligence. Specific board approval framework, financing structure, flip tax, sublet duration limits, current capital project pipeline, and the LL11 façade cycle on the 1912 vintage should be reviewed.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard. Plan for 6–10 weeks from contract through board approval to closing.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the Carpenter floor-plan pedigree and the Goldberger recognition. Both are real architectural-history credentials.
The "Top 10 Great City Apartment Buildings" institutional credential is real. Paul Goldberger's New York Times recognition supports premium pricing positioning.
Pricing benefits from broker familiarity with the building's narrow buyer pool. The 16-unit scale means recent comparable closings carry meaningful weight in the building's reference pricing.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Adelaide, also evaluate:
- 625 Park Avenue — nearby Park Avenue peer
- 620 Park Avenue (The Palacio) — Carpenter 1924; same-architect Park Avenue peer
- 640 Park Avenue — Carpenter 1914; same-architect / same-developer (Weaver) Park Avenue peer
- 740 Park Avenue — Candela / Cross & Cross 1929–30; trophy pre-war cooperative
- 820 Fifth Avenue — pre-war Fifth Avenue trophy peer
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 The Adelaide?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Adelaide 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.