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A Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue that once housed the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United Nations is set for a major transformation. Plans to convert the property into a private club were detailed in Department of Buildings filings first reported by Crain’s New York Business.
Built in 1903 and designed by Warren and Wetmore—the architects behind the New York Yacht Club and Grand Central Terminal—the six-story Beaux Arts-style townhouse at 854 Fifth Avenue sits between East 66th and 67th streets. It became one of New York City’s first individual landmarks in 1969.
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The 16,000-square-foot building–also known as the Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White Mansion–has been empty since 2018. In 2022, the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Slovenia sold it for $50 million in an all-cash deal. City records show the buyer, using an entity named after the address, is connected to Qatari businessman Abdulhadi Al-Hajri, who has been linked to high-profile real estate purchases such as the Ritz in London.
According to the latest filings, Howard Corney—reportedly associated with the U.K.-based firm Thornham Residential Holdings—plans to renovate and partially demolish portions of the building, with work estimated at $19 million. The project also includes a rooftop addition.
Proposals call for turning the first through fourth floors into a club, bar, lounge, and dining space totaling about 11,000 square feet. The fifth and sixth floors would become three residences covering roughly 6,000 square feet. Other planned changes include enclosing the interior courtyard to create another dining room, adding 2,500 square feet to the roof, and installing an ADA-accessible lift at the front entrance.
The rezoning application for the project, which Al-Hajri was listed on, received approval earlier this year from both the Department of City Planning and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Membership details have not been made public, but records indicate it would be limited, with small-scale live music and events.
Midtown-based Peter Pennoyer Architect is listed as the architect of record for the renovations.
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Neighbors had nothing to say about rezoning?
There’s a much larger club around the corner. This use is compatible with the area. Of course locals had a opportunity to comment
My question:how many years were they stuck in approvals?