The Residences at 400 Fifth Avenue, 400 Fifth Avenue: Review and Ratings

Review of 400 Fifth Avenue by Carter Horsley

This very distinctive, 60-story, mixed-use tower at 400 Fifth Avenue on the northwest corner at 36^th Street has a flared crown and very unusual fenestration.

It was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates and built by Bizzi & Partners Development of Milan, Italy.

It opened in 2010 and has 184 residential condominiums at the top and 214 hotel rooms in the base.

Bottom Line

A stunning, mixed-use tower with great views with vertically angled windows and a flaring crown illuminated at night.

Description

The residential tower is setback on the building’s 11-story hotel base, which has a rounded corner.

The top level of the base is perforated, which is a nice transition touch to the tower and the tower is has an interruption for a mechanical floor and its lower third or so has no corner windows.

The angled windows give the building a very textured appearance that is almost billowy.

Its limestone piers, however, reinforce the tower’s verticality culminated in the flared top and the fact that the piers are ribbed and the windows have stainless steel vertical dividers.

The verticality of the piers echoes to a certain degree the top of 425 Fifth Avenue further up the avenue that was designed by Michael Graves, but this is a superior design.

Amenities

The building has a concierge and a doorman, a gym and recreational facilities.

There is a residents' only lounge on the 11th floor with outdoor seating and gas fireplaces, a fitness center, and an Auriga Spa with an Aqua Grotto, Ice Cave, Plunge Pool, and Hamam and Experiential Showers.

Apartments

Some units are rented furnished by Oakwood Worldwide, which in 2012 acquired ExecuStay corporate housing brand from Marriott International, Inc.

Apartment H on floors 31 to 40 and 47 to 54 is a one-bedroom corner apartment with a large foyer leading to the bedroom and the 20-foot-long living area with an open kitchen.

Apartment F on floors 31 to 54 faces west and has a foyer that leads to a 13-foot living area with an open kitchen with an island on the other side of which is an 18-foot-long bedroom.

Apartment C on floors 31 to 40 and 47 to 54 is a two-bedroom unit that faces Fifth Avenue and has a foyer that opens onto an open kitchen and a 15-foot-long living area.

Apartment E on floors 31 to 54 is a two-bedroom unit that faces north with exposures to the east and west and has a foyer that opens onto a 14-foot-wide living area with an open kitchen.

Apartment H on floors 53 to 58 is a three bedroom unit that faces west and has a foyer that opens onto a 28-foot-long living area with an open kitchen.

History

In October, 2006, Community Board 5 endorsed the transfer of 173,000 square feet of development rights from the former Tiffany Building at 401 Fifth Avenue to this project by a vote of 27 to 10 with 1 abstention in exchange for a preservation plan and continued maintenance plan for the landmark building.

The developer acquired the site in May 2006 from Tessler Developments LLC and Lehman Brothers, both of whom had commissioned Gwathmey Siegel as the architectural firm.

The site had been acquired for about $150 million by Tessler from The Chetrit Group, which had commissioned a design from Peter Magill of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The prior design was even more radical in its façade treatment as it presented a rougher, more ragged and sharp look horizontally.

The new design also had a rounded corner, a treatment that Gwathmey Siegel had used in its design of 240 Park Avenue south for Tessler, who had been a partner with Chetrit on the conversion of the Windsor Park Hotel to condominiums.

In October, 2012, Bizzi & Partners Development LLC announced that 400 Fifth Realty LLC had entered into an agreement with Great Eagle Group to acquire the 214-room hotel in the building for $229 million and that effective January 2012 the Setai Fifth Avenue hotel would be known as Langham Place, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Great Eagle Group.