A Supertall on Fifth Avenue, Eager to Be a Good Neighbor

A new mixed-use skyscraper in Midtown, embellished with arches and terraces, is set to pierce through New York City’s skyline, adding another supertall to the mix.

The new tower, to be known as 520 Fifth Avenue, topped out this week. At 1,002 feet, the building is the second tallest on Fifth Avenue after the Empire State Building. It’s also the tallest residential building on Fifth Avenue, and is slated to be completed in 2026, with phased occupancy starting next year.

Rabina, a Manhattan-based developer, collaborated on 520 Fifth Avenue with Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), an architecture firm with a portfolio of other supertalls, like One Vanderbilt in Midtown and the Lotte World Tower in Seoul. Suffolk handled the construction, while Vicky Charles, a Soho House alum with celebrity-clientele like George and Amal Clooney, David and Victoria Beckham and Harry Styles, oversaw the interior design.

Nestled at the corner of 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue, the slender structure, which sits on a quarter-acre lot, is adorned with arches and setbacks, nods to classic New York City architecture. The arches are made from glazed terra-cotta on the lower floors, before switching to painted aluminum with bronze extrusions on higher floors. The building resonates with nearby buildings like Grand Central Terminal, the Fred F. French building and the Century Association next door, said James von Klemperer, the president and design principal at KPF.