NEW YORK | 800 5th Ave | 330 FT | FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/magazine/january-2026/mikis-mark/

Miki Naftali takes Fifth Avenue
The typically understated developer takes on his most ambitious project yet


By Keith Larsen & Rich Bockmann
JAN 5, 2026

Now, the short and upbeat 63-year-old in clear-framed glasses has paid about a record price per square foot for a residential development site at 800 Fifth Avenue, where he plans to demolish the current structure and put up a 26-story Robert A.M. Stern tower for New York’s blue bloods and billionaires.

It’s a project that celebrity broker Ryan Serhant believes will be the one the “world talks about for the next 30 years.”

If Serhant is right, Naftali will be etching his name beside the city’s real estate legends, along with Gary Barnett, the Dursts, Rudins, Silversteins and Elghanayans.

George added that while Naftali might not have the international recognition of a developer like, say, Extell’s Gary Barnett, he’s definitely got clout with local buyers: “New Yorkers know his reputation.”
He’s done four buildings so far with Robert A.M. Stern’s office (800 Fifth will be the fifth and, possibly one of the last that the famed architect ever worked on — Stern died last year; see page 56).

Compass’ Alexa Lambert, who’s headed sales on many of Naftali’s buildings, agreed with the developer’s own assessment that the details matter, even if construction is longer and more expensive.

“He bet that people will appreciate it if you do things the right way,” she said. “And so far he’s been both right and lucky.”

“It’s no shortcuts, no noise, no ego,” Serhant said. “That’s the trifecta for creating greatness in the development business, it’s hard to find a developer who has one of those themes, let alone all three.”

After Naftali went into contract in March to buy 800 Fifth Avenue from Spitzer Enterprises and the Winter Organization for $810 million, Adam Doneger of Newmark took to LinkedIn to announce that it was the highest price per square foot for land ever. Based on square footage from Property Shark, that would put the price per square foot at about $2,275.

Naftali acknowledged the high price.

“We looked at 800 Fifth and we said, there is only one,” he said. This is the only opportunity anyone will ever have to develop such a prime piece of land overlooking Central Park. “We think that you pay a big price for a special property. So, time will tell if we are right.”

The opportunity is similar to what The Plaza offered in 2004. The condos there drew in buyers like Harry Macklowe, Tommy Hilfiger and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

But The Plaza’s conversion had obstacles.
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In Miami, Naftali’s pitch is similar to that of other New York developers: that he can bring New York-level living to Miami.

“It’s very difficult to get the quality in South Florida and in Miami. I mean, we’re sitting in a building that’s not the most expensive building in New York by any stretch of imagination, but the quality here is really good quality,” Naftali said, gesturing around the East 83rd Street condo’s amenity floor.

“It’s difficult to get it in New York,” he said. “It’s more difficult to get it in South Florida.”

Miamians roll their eyes at these sorts of claims, and Naftali makes clear there are talented developers in South Florida. Still, fewer condo builders are able to meet buyer expectations, according to Naftali.

“Speak with brokers in Miami, and I think the last couple of years, they see it more and more, there is a big difference between some of the projects, between the beautiful renderings at the beginning and the end product,” he said.

800 Fifth will inevitably draw comparisons to the Zeckendorf’s Stern-designed “Limestone Jesus” at 15 Central Park West, the supertalls on 57th Street and, to some extent, Naftali’s Plaza conversion.

(Things did not go well for the last developer who sought to do large-scale condo developments uptown: Ziel Feldman’s HFZ Capital collapsed during Covid, losing historic Beaux Arts buildings such as the Belnord and the Astor to foreclosure. HFZ’s managing principal Nir Meir was indicted in early 2024, accused of masterminding a $86 million fraud scheme in which he allegedly siphoned money out of the project accounts. Meir has pleaded not guilty.)

So what gives the developer the confidence he can pull it all off? It’s the small successes, built over time. The attention to detail that hasn’t wavered as projects have grown more ambitious.

“We started to build it, and now we’re 14 years after that,” Naftali said of what might seem like a fast rise. “So this didn’t happen in a day or a month.”

[ChiND]

This tower is going to be incredible. I hope that we get news about 36 CPS soon.

[Mickey Bricks]

Originally Posted by ChiND

This tower is going to be incredible. I hope that we get news about 36 CPS soon.

They've really got to get 36 right. The location is even more high-stakes than 800 5th. I wait with baited breath.

[ChiND]

It’s interesting that they mention Rudin’s rental building on Fifth. I’ve always wanted to see that get redeveloped.

https://nypost.com/2026/05/08/real-estat...eveloper-plans-ultra-luxe-condo-project/

200 wealthy Manhattan renters evicted after developer plans ultra-luxe condo project

By Mary K. Jacob
Published May 8, 2026, 5:04 p.m. ET

[NYguy]

The ignorant will tell you that all the wealthy people are fleeing the city...


https://nypost.com/2026/05/08/real-estat...eveloper-plans-ultra-luxe-condo-project/

200 wealthy Manhattan renters evicted after developer plans ultra-luxe condo project





By Mary K. Jacob
May 8, 2026

Get out your Stravinsky violins.

Some of Manhattan’s wealthiest renters are about to be evicted, as the owner of their already luxury building wants to develop even more high-end homes.

When Miki Naftali agreed last year to pay north of $800 million for 800 Fifth Ave. — the Bernard Spitzer-built tower that has anchored the corner of Fifth and 61st Street since 1978 — he set in motion one of the more unusual displacement events in recent New York real estate history.

In order to redevelop the building, he’s evicting tenants from all 208 units who already pay some of the highest rents in the country — and they’re not happy

Good cause eviction protections are unlikely to apply at rent levels this high.

All apartments must be vacated by year’s end; the leasing office went dark last August. And Naftali’s firm, working with architect Robert A.M. Stern, is moving toward a partial demolition of the existing 33-story tower to make way for a 26-story, 330-foot limestone condominium that promises to be among the most expensive addresses ever built in Manhattan.

Stern’s signature prewar-inflected design, with arched windows, dentil-trim cornices and terraced upper setbacks, will rise directly across from Central Park.

For those being shown the door, the vision is considerably less inspiring.

“I’ve lived here for over 10 years. I love the neighborhood. If it were up to me, I would never leave,” one tenant, who asked not to be identified, told The Post. “I’ve been trying to find something similar, but have to look a little further east, which has been a pain.

“There is nothing, and I mean nothing, for rent around here.”

The tenants at 800 Fifth were not paying cheap rent, either. One-bedrooms ran around $9,000 a month; larger units climbed to $30,000. These are people with means — many of whom have lived in the building for a decade or more and chose renting precisely because it suited their lifestyle. Now they are learning, in real time, that Fifth Avenue simply does not have a rental market to speak of.

Keyan Sanai, a top rental broker at Douglas Elliman who has fielded a surge of calls from displaced residents, has watched the scramble up close. The problem, he says, is not purely financial.

“It’s not how much more they could pay. It’s a matter of, does it exist? If you go up on Fifth Avenue, in what we’ll call the prime area, there’s only one other rental building, 945 Fifth Ave., that the Rudins operate,” Sanai told The Post. “So now, regardless of whether they’re willing to up their budget $5,000 to $10,000 to $15,000, they have to look elsewhere.”

The Rudin family’s 945 Fifth, long regarded as the gold standard among Fifth Avenue rental buildings, has been overwhelmed.

“I get phone calls, and they go, ‘Hey, can you help me? I need to move.’ I go, ‘Let me guess, 800 Fifth?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Did you call 945 Fifth Ave.?’ They go, ‘Yeah, there’s like a five-year waiting list now.’ Because people scrambled. So now those people are broadening their search.”

What’s upsetting the Fifth Avenue devotees even more is that even the empty apartments on the prime address — owned or leased by second-homers who rarely use them — are out of reach

“There’s a lot of the co-ops on Fifth that don’t even allow you to sublet,” Sanai said.

“We actually see this on the other side of the park as well. Central Park West. There are three buildings that are rental buildings. So even if you wanted to spend $125 grand a month, you can’t live in The San Remo, for example. It’s a beautiful building with the two towers. You can’t live in it. There’s no supply. You cannot rent your apartment out.”

For those who do find available apartments, the pricing has been eye-opening. One unit at Fasano Fifth Avenue, a private members club offering short-term turnkey rentals, went for $175,000 a month. Last December, an apartment at The Benson at 1045 Madison Ave. was leased for $95,000 a month.

The sale itself has quietly raised eyebrows across the industry.

“Everyone is pretty shocked. Who in their right mind would sell a piece of real estate on Fifth Avenue that has that kind of income coming?” Sanai said.

“It was such a rare building to begin with, to have a rental building in that location. And they could practically ask almost whatever they wanted, especially recently with the rental market.”

“As new owners of 800 Fifth Avenue, we have been in consistent communication with outgoing residents throughout this transition,” a spokesperson for Naftali’s team told The Real Deal. “We are making progress toward our investment in the building and look forward to sharing more about our vision for this property.”

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

The ignorant will tell you that all the wealthy people are fleeing the city...

Anyone who says that is a moron. NY is by far the best place in the U.S. No city remotely compares. Also, it’s getting better and better. Consider the transformative landscaping projects on Fifth and Park and all of the utterly iconic new towers that will start rising soon.

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/05/08/the-exodus-is-underway-at-800-fifth/

The exodus at 800 Fifth Avenue
Building turnover sends wealthy tenants into tight UES market





May 8, 2026
By Jake Indursky

“It’s every broker’s dream,” says Brown Harris Stevens’ Lisa Simonsen.

Simonsen is referring to 800 Fifth Avenue, the building that Miki Naftali agreed to buy from Eliot Spitzer for over $800 million last March with plans to develop what will likely be some of the city’s most expensive condos ever.

But in this case, she’s not talking about the future Robert A.M. Stern-designed homes set to grace the prime stretch of real estate along Central Park. Instead, 208 rental units in the existing faux-limestone hulk of concrete, filled with wealthy tenants who need to move out in the next several months before their leases expire.

“There is a sense of urgency,” Simonsen said. “As brokers, often we may work with people for a year or two years or even longer. Whereas this is, you know, ‘tick tock.’ Everyone here has a very loud clock.”

“As new owners of 800 Fifth Avenue, we have been in consistent communication with outgoing residents throughout this transition,” a spokesperson for the project said in a statement. “We are making progress toward our investment in the building and look forward to sharing more about our vision for this property.”

For many in the building known for its park views, it’s the first time they’ve had to move in decades. Now, the wealthy tenants of 800 Fifth are flooding the one of the most competitive submarkets in the city in recent years.

“There’s nothing,” said The Agency’s Michael Birlya of the Upper East Side. “The rental market is insane, the sales market is really picking up.”

The rental market is even more of a challenge, and the self-imposed constraints from residents haven’t made it any easier to navigate (Serhant’s Lisa Taubes said she couldn’t get her client “east of Park Avenue if I paid her”).

In that tight rectangle bounded by 60th Street to the south, there are just 21 apartments available to rent, according to StreetEasy. (There are also townhouses going for north of $50,000 per month).

Two of the available rentals are at Fasano Fifth Avenue, a private members club with 12 apartments billed as short-term, turnkey luxury rentals. One of Simonsen’s clients from 800 Fifth scooped up one of the units there for $175,000 per month, a step up in price from the large three bedroom they had for under $30,000 per month previously.

Taubes’ client from 800 Fifth initially wanted to rent before learning what it would cost to maintain her lifestyle, which involves a “very large apartment” with views from the 35th floor.

“I told her that her rent would be $12,000 to $15,000, and she was like, ‘Oh my God, I thought $8,000 was a lot,” Taubes said. “I am not paying that.”

Even then, Taubes said they lost out on an apartment at 1015 Park Avenue before eventually finding a two-bedroom, two-bathroom at 870 Fifth Avenue on the second floor for $1.7 million. “She initially didn’t want a low floor, but she is on the low floor,” Taubes said.

Others are still on the hunt, like Elliman’s Alexander Boriskin’s client. “The rentals are pretty though,” he said.

“She’s been in the building for so long, she said, ‘I love the area, so maybe I should buy at this point,’” he added.