The Sherry-Netherland (781 Fifth Avenue)
781 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
- Year built
- 1927
- Type
- Hybrid hotel-cooperative — 165 cooperative residences combined with 50 hotel rooms and suites in a single building
- Units
- 165
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Permitted under cooperative rules;
- Subletting
- Restrictive; board approval required
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $800K
- Recent range
- $500K – $9.5M
- Listing discount
- 13.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 142
The Sherry-Netherland at 781 Fifth Avenue is the earliest of Schultze & Weaver's three Manhattan trophy hotel-residences — preceding the Waldorf-Astoria (1931) and The Pierre (1930) — and was the tallest apartment hotel in New York City at completion in 1927. The 38-story tower at the corner of Fifth and 59th Street was developed by the restaurateur Louis Sherry (whose name still anchors the building) and the hotelier Lucius Boomer, who together capitalized the project as a deliberately upscale entry in the Manhattan apartment-hotel category that was emerging in the late 1920s.
Schultze & Weaver, working in association with Buchman & Kahn, produced an architectural composition that is among the most stylistically eclectic in pre-war Manhattan — a deliberate blend of Art Deco, Renaissance Revival, and Gothic vocabulary that reads as more architecturally exuberant than the firm's later Pierre commission (which is more single-vocabulary French Renaissance / Châteauesque). The building's defining exterior signature is the distinctive Gothic Revival spire that crowns the tower at 560 feet, a silhouette that has anchored the Grand Army Plaza skyline for nearly a century and that competes with The Plaza's mansard crown for the title of most recognizable hotel-architecture detail on the southern edge of Central Park.
The 1954–1955 cooperative conversion is structurally important. The Sherry-Netherland was among the earliest Manhattan hotel-to-cooperative conversions — predating The Pierre's 1958 conversion by approximately three years and predating The Carlyle's 1969 conversion by roughly 15 years. The conversion produced 165 cooperative residences alongside the continuing 50-room hotel operation, establishing the hybrid template that subsequent Manhattan trophy hotel-cooperatives would follow. Original shareholder pricing — from $5,100 for studios to $50,000 for duplexes — is among the more remarkable mid-20th-century New York real estate datapoints, capturing both the era's pricing context and the foresight of buyers who acquired apartments at what now reads as effectively free pricing.
The architectural distinction of the Sherry-Netherland's interior public spaces is unusual even among trophy buildings. The lobby's ceiling mural — restored in 2014 — draws explicitly from Renaissance fresco traditions and provides a daily-life signature that no other Manhattan apartment building approaches. Harry Cipriani's flagship Manhattan location occupies the building's street level; residents have direct access to the restaurant alongside the building's hotel services.
For buyers, the Sherry-Netherland represents a particular position in the Manhattan trophy market: the earliest of the Schultze & Weaver hotel-residences, the most architecturally eclectic of the trio, the most concentrated cooperative inventory (165 apartments vs. The Pierre's 77 and The Plaza's 181 condominium configuration), and the architectural anchor of the southeast corner of Central Park. The 38-story tower at the corner of 59th and Fifth is, by any measure, among the most photographically and culturally substantial Manhattan addresses.
Architecture and unit composition
The 165 cooperative residences distribute across the building's 38 floors with a structurally distinct configuration:
- Lower floors: Multiple apartments per floor; smaller configurations including studios and 1BRs (some of these were the building's "value-tier" apartments at the 1954 conversion and remain the most accessible inventory)
- Tower floors (above the 24th): Typically one apartment per floor; full-floor configurations with multiple exposures and substantial floor plates
- Upper tower / spire-level apartments: The building's most architecturally distinctive inventory, with unusual ceiling configurations reflecting the Gothic spire geometry and the most concentrated views across Central Park and the southern Manhattan skyline
Apartment configurations span from approximately 600 sf studios to 5,000+ sf full-floor configurations and the occasional larger duplex. The 1927 architectural detail has been preserved to varying degrees across the building's nearly century-long occupancy; renovations have produced apartment-by-apartment variation.
Park views are available from the building's upper-floor north and west-facing apartments — direct sight lines across Central Park to the Park itself, the Plaza Hotel opposite at Grand Army Plaza, and the southern Manhattan skyline. East-facing apartments look toward midtown and the East River corridor.
Building operations
The Sherry-Netherland operates as a cooperative with full-time doorman, 24-hour concierge, valet service, integrated access to the Sherry-Netherland Hotel services, and the building's continuing relationship with Harry Cipriani at the street-level restaurant. The cooperative board operates the residential portion; the hotel operates independently in its 50 rooms / suites.
The integration of hotel services with cooperative residence is structural and historically continuous since the 1954–1955 conversion. Residents can use hotel room service, housekeeping, valet, and concierge services on an a la carte basis. Harry Cipriani's restaurant on the ground floor provides the building's most distinctive resident-accessible amenity.
Specific cooperative policies (financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet rules, pied-à-terre allowance) should be confirmed directly with cooperative management during due diligence. The Sherry-Netherland board has historically been selective and the building's institutional culture has preserved residential character through multiple generations of hotel-side ownership changes.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $367,890/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $593,783/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $181 – $293
Facade safety — Local Law 11
An active hazard: the building must keep a sidewalk shed up and make repairs now — expect construction, disruption, and a likely special assessment. We’d get you the repair scope and the building’s funding plan up front, so you go in knowing exactly what’s underway and what it’s likely to cost.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2026 | 701 | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,050 sf | $2,650,000 | $1,293/sf | -7.0% |
| Mar 3, 2026 | 1214 | 2 BR · 2 BA | $950,000 | -9.5% | |
| Nov 24, 2025 | 2001 | 2 BR · 2.5 BA · private outdoor | $2,600,000 | -25.6% | |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 514 | 1 BR · 1 BA · 919 sf | $500,000 | $544/sf | -9.1% |
| Jul 31, 2025 | 2109 | 1 BR · 1 BA · 600 sf | $800,000 | $1,333/sf | off-mkt |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 407 | 1 BR · 865 sf | $775,000 | $896/sf | -3.0% |
| Oct 29, 2024 | 501 | 2 BR · 2.5 BA | $1,500,000 | +20.0% | |
| Aug 27, 2024 | 1411 | 3 BR · 3 BA | $1,900,000 | -24.0% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,293/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 11.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 27, 2024 | 2201 | $2,800,000 |
| Mar 25, 2024 | 35T | $9,500,000 |
| Feb 23, 2022 | 207 | $712,000 |
| Nov 10, 2021 | 811 | $715,000 |
| Mar 16, 2021 | 101 | $17,008,000 |
| Jan 10, 2019 | 35T | $13,600,000 |
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 1-01374-0001) 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 buying
Understand the hybrid hotel-cooperative program. Buyers acquire a cooperative residence in an actively-functioning luxury hotel. Hotel guest activity in shared circulation is part of the daily-life signature. The Sherry-Netherland's program is on the more institutional end of the hotel-cooperative spectrum given its earlier conversion (1954 vs. The Pierre's 1958 and The Carlyle's 1969).
Board approval is institutionally serious. The cooperative board's screening framework follows tier-one Gold Coast norms with attention to fit with the building's hotel-integration program.
Schultze & Weaver architectural pedigree matters. Among Manhattan trophy buildings, the Sherry-Netherland's architectural identity — the Gothic spire, the eclectic Renaissance Revival / Art Deco blend, the restored lobby mural — places it in a distinctive cultural register.
Hotel services are available a la carte. Residents can use Sherry-Netherland Hotel services but pay separately. Harry Cipriani at the street level is accessible to residents in the same manner as any other Cipriani guest.
The 165-unit scale produces wider buyer dynamics. Compared to The Pierre's 77 cooperative units or The Carlyle's 60, the Sherry-Netherland's broader inventory accommodates a meaningfully wider buyer pool and produces more frequent comparable transactions for pricing analysis.
Tower-vs.-base apartments are structurally different. Upper-tower (above 24th floor) apartments are typically one per floor with substantial floor plates; lower-floor apartments are smaller and more numerous per floor. Buyers should understand which section they're acquiring.
Confirm specific policies directly with management. Financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet policy specifics, and pied-à-terre allowance should be obtained directly during the contract review process.
Renovation is constrained by historic district status and the building's pre-war character. The board reviews scope and quality with attention to preservation of original Schultze & Weaver / Buchman & Kahn detailing.
View permanence is excellent. Central Park anchors the corridor's view envelope; Grand Army Plaza is protected by multiple landmark designations.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the architectural and cultural register. Listing copy should reference the Schultze & Weaver design, the Gothic spire, the lobby mural, the Cipriani street-level relationship, and the building's place within the Manhattan trophy hotel-residence canon.
Pricing requires apartment-level context. The 165-unit scale produces meaningful variation; view, exposure, floor altitude, tower-vs.-base configuration, and renovation history all matter substantially.
The earlier-conversion history is a marketing asset. The Sherry-Netherland's 1954–1955 conversion predates The Pierre's and The Carlyle's, producing the longest continuous cooperative-residence history among Manhattan hotel-cooperative hybrids. The institutional continuity is real and marketable.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Sherry-Netherland, also evaluate:
- The Pierre (795 Fifth) — Schultze & Weaver 1930; same architectural firm; comparable mixed-use program
- The Plaza (1 CPS / 768 Fifth) — Hardenbergh 1907; partial condominium conversion 2008
- The Carlyle (35 East 76th) — Sylvan Bien 1930 Art Deco hotel-cooperative
- 740 Park Avenue — pure-residential Gold Coast tier-one; cash-only
- 820 Fifth Avenue — pure-residential tier-one; smaller scale
- 998 Fifth Avenue — McKim Mead & White 1912; the original Fifth Avenue luxury apartment-house tradition
The Roebling Team at The Sherry-Netherland
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 mixed-use trophy buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, the realities of the hotel-cooperative program, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at The Sherry-Netherland, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point. We'll bring the full context this page provides plus the transactional specifics your situation requires — financial structuring, board approvability, comparable analysis at the apartment level, and the pacing strategy that fits your timeline.
Get the full picture on this building.
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