When Five Points Development’s Boris Kuzinez announced his Flatiron supertall in 2017, it caused a commotion.
The developer’s first project in the United States was also poised to become NoMad’s first hulking tower. The development, initially planned to be over 1,000 feet, in the following years inspired criticism from locals — and the New York Times’ architecture critic — for potentially blocking views of the Empire State Building.
After years of reported starts and stalls on its work, and the halving of the units it was slated to deliver, the project received approval from the attorney general’s office on its offering plan in December.
With the approval came pricing on just five of the building’s 26 planned units.
Douglas Elliman’s Michael Graves, who was tapped to lead sales at the building, projected confidence.
“There will certainly be no negotiations at 262,” he said at the time. “The prices are only going to go one direction.”
But things have since been quiet around the tower, which stands 860 feet high after topping out last year.
The only movement has been loan trading between the project’s two lenders, Madison Realty Capital and Cottonwood Group, who lent Kuzinez $180 million in 2023 after the developer struggled to secure financing for years.
In June, Cottonwood bought out Madison Realty on its $90 million note secured by the building’s condo units, according to public records. PincusCo first reported the transaction.
In addition to its original $90 million construction loan, Madison Realty provided $20 million in mezzanine debt and $20 million in senior debt, which was paid down in 2024. Cottonwood provided the extra $50 million in mezzanine debt.
A spokesperson for the project said in a statement that the move “simplifies decision-making, mitigates execution risk, and provides Five Points Development with greater flexibility as the project advances.”
The spokesperson confirmed that sales, which were expected to launch in the spring, have been delayed to “ensure we’re coming to market at the most advantageous moment.” They added that sales are expected to launch “shortly” as the team finalizes “key elements that will maximize visibility and ensure a strong reception from both domestic and international buyers.”
The skinny supertall, which sits on just 5,000 square feet of land, topped out last year with its 70-foot oculus and inverted golden arch overlooking Madison Square Park.
Kuzinez originally bought three plots of land at 260, 262 and 264 Fifth Avenue for $102 million nine years ago. He later parted ways with 260 Fifth Avenue for $52.5 million in 2021.
When the assemblage initially came together, the city’s new development market was already on the downswing after years of aggressive building had saturated the market with hundreds of excess units.
Inventory has tightened considerably in recent years as developers slowed construction amid high construction and lending costs. New projects that have come on the market in the past several years have tended to do well, like Mickey Rabina’s supertall at 520 Fifth Avenue, which has sold over 90 percent of its 100 units just 15 blocks north of Kuzinez’s project.
Rabina’s project, though standing nearly 150 feet taller than Kuzinez’s, is far less ambitious in terms of pricing. Its top-floor penthouse sold for $11.5 million last year, and roughly two-thirds of the units are listed for under $4 million.
Compare that to 262 Fifth, in which the least expensive of its five priced units is a 2,200-square-foot simplex priced at $9.15 million — $4,100 per square foot. The priciest is $23.25 million for a 2,859-square-foot duplex on the 60th floor — $8,220 per square foot.
Kuzinez has yet to release pricing on the quadruplex penthouse, and 19 of the project’s 26 residences are duplexes.
The project, which sits on the corner of 29th Street and Fifth Avenue, should get a boost from wealthy buyers turning their attention downtown. But most of the activity thus far has been on the city’s west side, with resales at projects like Witkoff Group’s 150 Charles garnering premiums, and new development projects like Zeckendorf Development’s 80 Clarkson seeking record-setting prices.
Kuzinez’s project is going to face increased competition from one of New York’s most iconic landmarks when the Brodsky Organization and Sorgente Group’s Flatiron Building conversion launches sales this fall for its 38 units.
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Five Point’s Fifth Avenue supertall scores approval — but prices only 5 units
Skinny Fifth Avenue supertall will have only 26 units
