212 Fifth Avenue Condominiums

New York, NY
Madison Equities

Empty for years, 212 Fifth Avenue was built as a commercial building in the glory days of Madison Square at the start of the 20th century. As the area now known as the historic NoMad district once again becomes popular for high-end living, Helpern Architects has restored, converted, and served as Architect of Record as the 1913 building becomes a 24-story luxury apartment condominium. Repeat client Madison Equities is the managing partner for the project.

At 200,000 square feet, 212 Fifth Avenue has yielded 48 apartments and two very special penthouses with their own terraces. The base will house retail. The main entrance is now centered on West 26th Street.

Behind 212’s memorable limestone, terra cotta, and brick façade, with its oversized windows and Gothic and Romanesque details, is a rhomboid-shaped, modern steel-frame structure as progressive as any built at that time of exuberant expansion in the city. Ironically, 212 Fifth was designed by Schwartz & Gross, a firm known for hundreds of the era’s fine apartment buildings on the Upper East and Upper West Sides.

More information about the building’s construction is here.

Renderings: VISUALHOUSE