Office building · Midtown South, Manhattan
259 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
259 Fifth Avenue is a 25-floor office building in Midtown South, Manhattan, built in 1929, with about 427,000 square feet of office space according to city records.
Also at 2-6 East 29th Street and 259-263 Fifth Avenue.
- Office space
- 427K SF
- Floors
- 25
- Year built
- 1929
- Zoning
- C5-2
The 8th largest of the 184 office buildings we track in Midtown South. Compare it with 6 neighbors
No space at 259 Fifth Avenue is listed on Leasemark yet. Own or broker space here? List it free and it is matched against every active requirement the day it goes up, or import a spreadsheet of up to 50 spaces at once. Nothing free right now? Get tenant alerts for Midtown South and hear the moment a tenant posts a requirement there. Manage or lease this building? Claim this page.
Print a one-page profile of this building for a tour book or a client proposal.
Compared with its neighbors
How 259 Fifth Avenue compares
Next to the 6 nearest large office buildings, all within a 1 minute walk, 259 Fifth Avenue is the largest by office floor area. Built in 1929, it is the newest of them. Its estimated property tax, about $12.77 a square foot of floor area before abatements, is close to the neighbors' median of $12.81.
| Building | Office space | Floors | Built | Tax / SF | Last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 259 Fifth Avenue | 427K SF | 25 | 1929 | $12.77 | Jul 2005, $180M |
| 251 Fifth Avenue | 42K SF | 7 | 1916 | $11.60 | n/a |
| 3 East 28th Street | 54K SF | 12 | 1912 | $13.27 | n/a |
| 267 Fifth Avenue | 50K SF | 11 | 1915 | $14.57 | n/a |
| 258 Fifth Avenue | 55K SF | 12 | 1900 | $11.01 | May 2021, $52.5M |
| 243 Fifth Avenue | 248K SF | 24 | 1927 | $19.51 | Apr 2011, $162M |
| 102 Madison Avenue | 101K SF | 12 | 1917 | $12.34 | n/a |
Sources: NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO 26v2 for size, floors and year built; NYC Department of Finance 2026/27 roll for tax (taxable value times the class rate, before abatements, over the whole floor area); ACRIS for the last deed that moved the whole lot for a real price (a price for several lots is their combined price; condominiums sell by the unit and show n/a). Large means at least 35,000 SF of the building's main use. Walking times are straight-line estimates.
NYC tax lot records
Building facts
- Other addresses
- 2-6 East 29th Street; 259-263 Fifth Avenue
- ZIP code
- 10016
- Building type
- Office building (city class O4)
- Total floor area
- 444,716 SF
- Commercial floor area
- 444,716 SF
- Office
- 426,608 SF
- Retail
- 18,108 SF
- Height
- 25 floors
- Average floor
- About 17,800 SF (floor area divided by floors)
- Year built
- 1929
- Last major alteration
- 2003
- Lot area
- 15,849 SF
- Zoning district
- C5-2
- Built FAR
- 28.06
- Max commercial FAR
- 10
- Historic district
- Madison Square North Historic District
- Tax lot (BBL)
- 1008580078
Source: NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO 26v2, pulled 2026-10-16; addresses from the Property Address Directory (PAD) 26b; subway stations from the MTA Subway Stations dataset, pulled 2026-10-16. Floor areas are the city's estimates for the whole building, not available space. Walking times are straight-line estimates. How we build these pages. Something wrong on this page? Tell us.
NYC storefront registry (Local Law 157)
Storefronts and vacancy
Owners registered 3 storefronts at 259 Fifth Avenue for December 31, 2025, the newest annual filing the city has published, and none stood vacant that day.
- Storefronts registered for December 31, 2025
- 3
- Vacant that day
- 0
- Share vacant across Midtown South
- 11.9%
- Share vacant along Fifth Avenue
- 14.0%
- Share vacant citywide
- 9.2%
Vacant on December 31, by year
Need a storefront in Midtown South? Get matchedNYC storefront vacancy report
Source: NYC Department of Finance, Storefronts Reported Vacant or Not (Local Law 157), annual filings for 2019 to 2025, pulled 2026-10-16. Owners of buildings with ground- or second-floor storefronts register each one every year with its status on December 31; counts are by tax lot, as the owners filed them. The 2025 filing was due June 1, 2026, so a storefront vacant then may have been leased since. A vacant storefront is not always on the market, and none here is listed on Leasemark unless it shows above.
NYC Department of Finance records
Owner, property tax and assessed value
The Department of Finance lists 261 FIFTH AVENUE TIC as the owner of record. For tax year 2026/27 the city values 259 Fifth Avenue at $120.6 million and assesses it at $54.3 million. After phase-ins and exemptions its taxable value is $52.4 million; at the Class 4 rate of 10.848% (tax year 2025/26, the latest rate the Department of Finance lists) that comes to about $5.68 million a year before abatements, roughly $12.77 per square foot of floor area. Commercial leases here often pass a tenant's share of tax increases over a base year through as additional rent.
- Owner of record
- 261 FIFTH AVENUE TIC
- Tax class
- Class 4 (commercial and industrial)
- City market value
- $120,620,000
- Land market value
- $24,700,000
- Assessed value
- $54,279,000
- Taxable value (phased in)
- $52,366,320
- Estimated yearly tax
- About $5.68 million
- Tax per SF of floor area
- About $12.77
City market value by tax year
Manage or lease this building? Claim this page. Requests are reviewed by hand.
How to find who owns any NYC buildingSource: NYC Department of Finance, Property Valuation and Assessment Data (2026/27 roll; owner names as the roll records them, which cuts some long names short), pulled 2026-10-16; tax rate from the Department of Finance tax rates page, checked 2026-09-28. The estimate is the taxable value times the class rate. It leaves out abatements, payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements and charges, so the actual bill can differ.
Own or manage 259 Fifth Avenue? List a space here free and we match it against every active requirement. Renting it out yourself? Read the landlord's checklist.
NYC property records (ACRIS)
Sales history
259 Fifth Avenue last sold in July 2005 for $180 million, according to the deed recorded with the city. 261 FIFTH AVENUE, L.L.C. sold it to 261 FIFTH AVENUE TIC OWNER LLC and NORMANDY 261 5TH AVENUE LLC. That comes to about $405 per square foot of floor area.
- Last sale (deed date)
- July 28, 2005
- Price
- $180,000,000
- Price per SF of floor area
- About $405
- Seller
- 261 FIFTH AVENUE, L.L.C.
- Buyer
- 261 FIFTH AVENUE TIC OWNER LLC and NORMANDY 261 5TH AVENUE LLC
- Deed recorded
- September 27, 2005
- ACRIS document
- 2005080400849002
Recorded sales
Source: NYC Department of Finance, ACRIS, Real Property Master, Legals and Parties, pulled 2026-10-16; prices as the deeds state them, names as recorded (companies and public bodies only). Shown are deeds that move the whole lot for a real price. Transfers between related companies for a nominal sum, sales of partial interests, land sales before the building went up and sales of the company that owns a building are left out.
NYC energy benchmarking (Local Law 84)
Energy score, grade and emissions
259 Fifth Avenue reported an ENERGY STAR score of 88 out of 100 for 2024 in its Local Law 84 benchmarking filing. Under Local Law 33 that score earns an A (85 or higher). Its site energy use came to 47.4 kBtu per square foot, 49% below the national median of 93.5 for a similar property. Its greenhouse gas emissions were about 1,565 metric tons of CO2e (4.36 kg per square foot).
- ENERGY STAR score (2024)
- 88 of 100
- Grade this score earns (Local Law 33)
- A (85 or higher)
- Property type (Portfolio Manager)
- Office
- Site energy use intensity
- 47.4 kBtu/SF
- National median for the type
- 93.5 kBtu/SF
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- 1,565 t CO2e
- Emissions per SF
- 4.36 kg CO2e
- Floor area in the filing
- 358,851 SF
ENERGY STAR score by year
Energy sources in 2024
Source: NYC Department of Buildings and Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, NYC Building Energy and Water Data Disclosure for Local Law 84 (2024 filing), pulled 2026-10-16; grade cutoffs from the Department of Buildings energy grades page. Figures are as the owner filed them in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The grade is the one the filed score earns under the law's cutoffs; the Department of Buildings assigns the grade a building posts, which can differ.
Local Law 97 of 2019, estimated
Local Law 97 emissions limit
At its 2024 energy use, 259 Fifth Avenue comes to about 1,241 metric tons of CO2e a year under Local Law 97's coefficients, against a limit of 2,728 tons for 2024 to 2029 (45% of the limit), so it would owe no penalty. From 2030 the limit drops to 971 tons and the same energy use counts as about 790 tons, still under the limit.
- Period
- 2024 to 2029
- Emissions limit
- 2,728 t CO2e
- Estimated emissions
- 1,241 t CO2e
- Under the limit by
- 1,488 t CO2e
- Estimated penalty a year
- None
- Period
- 2030 to 2034
- Emissions limit
- 971 t CO2e
- Estimated emissions
- 790 t CO2e
- Under the limit by
- 180 t CO2e
- Estimated penalty a year
- None
Estimated from the owner's 2024 Local Law 84 filing, which reports energy by source and floor area by use: Office 348,926 SF; Food Service 1,925 SF; Retail Store 8,000 SF. It applies the coefficients and per-use limits in Department of Buildings rule 1 RCNY 103-14 and Administrative Code 28-320.3.1.1 (as the Department lists them) and the $268 per ton penalty, checked 2026-10-04. It is not the building's Local Law 97 report: that report can count renewable energy credits, solar and storage deductions and, for 2024 and 2025, the law's occupancy group limits where higher, and penalties can be reduced for good faith efforts.
Change these numbers in the Local Law 97 calculator to see what a cut in energy use would do to the penalty.
How Local Law 97 works: who is covered, the 2030 limits and what owners, tenants and buyers should check.
Own or manage 259 Fifth Avenue? List a space here free and we match it against every active requirement.
NYC Department of Buildings permits
Work permits and build-outs
In the 12 months to October 2026, the Department of Buildings issued first permits for 7 jobs at 259 Fifth Avenue. In the last two years, interior work was permitted on 25 floors (floors 1 to 25 and the cellar). The newest build-out, on floor 5, was first permitted in September 2026 (construction, mechanical, plumbing, sprinklers; filed cost estimate $703,000).
- New jobs, last 12 months
- 7
- Initial permits, last 12 months
- 21
- Newest job first permitted
- September 2026
- Interior build-outs, last 24 months
- 12
- Floors with interior work, last 24 months
- 1 to 25, cellar
- Facade and sidewalk jobs, last 24 months
- 1
Recent build-outs
New jobs by year
Build-outs across Midtown SouthWhere NYC offices are being built out
Source: NYC Department of Buildings, DOB NOW: Build Approved Permits, pulled 2026-10-24 (permits issued through 2026-10-22). A job counts once, when its first permit is issued; renewals are not new work. A build-out groups jobs on the same floors first permitted within 120 days of each other. Costs are the estimates filed with the jobs. Jobs filed before DOB NOW (in the older BIS system) are not counted. A permit is approval to do the work; it does not say who the work is for or whether it is finished.
Landmarks Preservation Commission records
Architecture and history
259 Fifth Avenue was designed by Buchman & Kahn and built in 1928-1929 in the Art Deco style. It stands in the Madison Square North Historic District, so exterior changes and new signage go through the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
- Architect
- Buchman & Kahn
- Constructed
- 1928-1929
- Style
- Art Deco
- Primary material
- Steel frame
- Built as
- Showrooms, offices and lofts
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Individual Landmark and Historic District Building Database on NYC Open Data, pulled 2026-10-16. A designation can cover part of a lot, such as a facade or a lobby interior.
No office space listed in Midtown South yet
Own or broker space at 259 Fifth Avenue? List it free: it shows on this page and is matched against every active requirement the day it goes up.
Before you sign
Plain-English guides to square footage, rent and lease terms in New York, and free calculators to run your own numbers.
How much is commercial rent in NYC? Per square foot, by borough
What NYC office, retail and industrial buildings collect per square foot in each borough, from the city's own filings, with the monthly math and the costs on top of rent.
Good guy guarantee in NYC commercial leases
How a good guy guarantee works in a NYC commercial lease: what it covers, how the guarantor gets released, what to negotiate and the 2025 surrender ruling.
How much office space do you need per employee in 2026
About 150 to 260 rentable SF per employee in NYC when everyone comes in, less with shared desks: tables by team size and layout, then how to size from your busiest day.
- Free calculator
Office space calculator
How many square feet your team needs, from headcount and layout to a rentable range.
- Free calculator
Commercial rent calculator
Turn a price per square foot into monthly and yearly rent, with increases, free rent and net effective rent.
- Free calculator
TI allowance calculator
A landlord's build-out allowance in dollars, what it covers of your budget and what the rest adds to the rent.
- Free calculator
Commercial Rent Tax calculator
Whether a Manhattan lease owes the city's Commercial Rent Tax, and roughly how much a year.
Questions about 259 Fifth Avenue
How big is 259 Fifth Avenue?
259 Fifth Avenue has about 445,000 square feet of floor area in total, including 427,000 square feet of office and 18,000 square feet of retail, according to NYC PLUTO 26v2. These are the city's estimates for the whole building, not space that is available.
When was 259 Fifth Avenue built?
The Landmarks Preservation Commission's building records date 259 Fifth Avenue to 1928-1929, designed by Buchman & Kahn. The building is 25 floors tall.
Who designed 259 Fifth Avenue?
Buchman & Kahn, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission's building records, which list the style as Art Deco and its original use as showrooms, offices and lofts.
What other addresses does 259 Fifth Avenue have?
City records list 2-6 East 29th Street and 259-263 Fifth Avenue on the same tax lot (BBL 1008580078) as 259 Fifth Avenue. A space listed on Leasemark at any of these addresses shows up on this page.
What is the ZIP code of 259 Fifth Avenue?
259 Fifth Avenue is in ZIP code 10016, according to the city's tax lot records (NYC PLUTO 26v2) and the Department of Finance's assessment roll. The full mailing address is 259 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, in Midtown South.
What is the zoning at 259 Fifth Avenue?
The lot is in the C5-2 zoning district. PLUTO lists a built floor area ratio (FAR) of 28.06 and a maximum commercial FAR of 10 for this lot. It is inside the Madison Square North Historic District, so exterior changes go through the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
What subway station is closest to 259 Fifth Avenue?
The closest subway station to 259 Fifth Avenue is 28 St (the R and W trains), about 600 feet away in a straight line, roughly 2 minutes on foot. Also nearby: 28 St (the 6 train), 4 min walk; 33 St (the 6 train), 5 min walk. Walking times are straight-line estimates; the street route is longer.
Who owns 259 Fifth Avenue?
The NYC Department of Finance's 2026/27 assessment roll lists 261 FIFTH AVENUE TIC as the owner of record of 259 Fifth Avenue (BBL 1008580078). Deeds and mortgages for the lot are public in ACRIS, the city's property records system.
When was 259 Fifth Avenue last sold?
259 Fifth Avenue last sold in July 2005 for $180 million, according to the deed recorded with the city. 261 FIFTH AVENUE, L.L.C. sold it to 261 FIFTH AVENUE TIC OWNER LLC and NORMANDY 261 5TH AVENUE LLC. That comes to about $405 per square foot of floor area. The deed is ACRIS document 2005080400849002 (BBL 1008580078) in the city's property records. A sale of the company that owns a building is not recorded as a deed, so it would not show there.
What is the energy grade of 259 Fifth Avenue?
259 Fifth Avenue reported an ENERGY STAR score of 88 for calendar year 2024 in its Local Law 84 benchmarking filing. Under Local Law 33, as amended by Local Law 95 of 2019, a score of 85 or higher earns an A, 70 to 84 a B, 55 to 69 a C and under 55 a D, so 88 earns an A. The Department of Buildings assigns the grade a building posts, so the posted label can differ if a filing was corrected. Its site energy use came to 47.4 kBtu per square foot, 49% below the national median of 93.5 for a similar property. Its greenhouse gas emissions were about 1,565 metric tons of CO2e (4.36 kg per square foot).
Does 259 Fifth Avenue meet Local Law 97?
At its 2024 energy use, 259 Fifth Avenue comes to about 1,241 metric tons of CO2e a year under Local Law 97's coefficients, against a limit of 2,728 tons for 2024 to 2029 (45% of the limit), so it would owe no penalty. From 2030 the limit drops to 971 tons and the same energy use counts as about 790 tons, still under the limit. This is an estimate from the owner's 2024 benchmarking filing using the coefficients and per-use limits in the law and the Department of Buildings rule, at $268 per ton over. It is not the building's Local Law 97 report, which can count credits and deductions this estimate cannot.
Is there construction at 259 Fifth Avenue?
In the 12 months to October 2026, the Department of Buildings issued first permits for 7 jobs at 259 Fifth Avenue. In the last two years, interior work was permitted on 25 floors (floors 1 to 25 and the cellar). The newest build-out, on floor 5, was first permitted in September 2026 (construction, mechanical, plumbing, sprinklers; filed cost estimate $703,000). These are the Department of Buildings' DOB NOW work permits for tax lot 1008580078. A permit is approval to do the work; it does not say who the work is for or whether it is finished.
What are the property taxes at 259 Fifth Avenue?
The Department of Finance's 2026/27 assessment roll lists a taxable value of $52.4 million for 259 Fifth Avenue. At the Class 4 rate of 10.848% (tax year 2025/26, the latest rate the Department of Finance lists), that is about $5.68 million a year, roughly $12.77 per square foot of floor area, before abatements such as ICAP. The city's property tax records for BBL 1008580078 show the actual bill.
What is the assessed value of 259 Fifth Avenue?
For tax year 2026/27, the NYC Department of Finance puts the market value of 259 Fifth Avenue at $120.6 million ($24.7 million of it land) and its assessed value at $54.3 million, the 45% of market value the city assesses for Class 4 property. The city's market value rose 11% from 2022/23 ($108.9 million) to 2026/27.
Are there vacant storefronts at 259 Fifth Avenue?
Owners registered 3 storefronts at 259 Fifth Avenue for December 31, 2025, the newest annual filing the city has published, and none stood vacant that day. These are the owners' filings with the Department of Finance under Local Law 157, so a storefront may have come free since. Owners and brokers can list a storefront on Leasemark for free.
Is there office space for lease at 259 Fifth Avenue?
No space at 259 Fifth Avenue is listed on Leasemark right now. Owners and brokers can list space here for free, and tenants can post a requirement to be matched when space opens up.
2,723 buildings from city records
Look up another building
Size, owner of record and property tax, plus the last sale and energy grade where the city has them, for every large office, retail and industrial building we track. Type any address on the lot (like 350 Fifth Avenue), a building name, a street or a neighborhood.
Midtown South
Transit hubs in Midtown South
- R W at 28 St
- 6 at 28 St
- F M at 23 St