2033 5TH Avenue, New York NY

All too often in New York, the appearance of a beloved theater and a big-name developer in the same sentence involves the theater being demolished to make way for a charmless condominium. However, we are happy to report that the opposite is happening at 2031-2033 Fifth Avenue, longtime home of the National Black Theater: A key component of Ray Harlem, a new 240-foot-high, 20-story building planned for the site, is a new, state-of-the-art home for the theater.
The development is the flagship for Ray, the developer of residential spaces “at the intersection of art and culture, community, and accessible pricing.” Founder Dasha Zhukova established Moscow’s Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in 2008 and brings that experience to her firm’s work. L&M Development is another development partner on this project.
Renderings of the new building, designed by Frida Escobedo in partnership with Handel Architects, depict a tower rising from a four-story podium. The pink-red brick facade references the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove in Nigeria. The site of the previous building has been cleared, and completion is estimated for spring 2024.