In what is becoming an almost a ho-hum occurrence in New York City, a new skyscraper is about to break a new height record. On Tuesday, Central Park Tower at 217 West 57th Street is set to top out at 1,550 feet, eclipsing 432 Park to become the tallest residential building not only in the city but in the world. As New York Magazine's architectural critic, Justin Davidson notes, were it not for One World Trade Center’s arguably height-cheating 400-foot spire, the Billionaires’ Row tower would flat out grab the mantle of tallest building in New York City.
At 131 stories, it will also be the second tallest structure in the United States, after One World Trade Center.
For city skyline watchers/gripers, none of this should come as a shock. This day was long in coming, back to when developer Extell planted its flag a decade ago at the site that once included a building considered for landmarking.
The result is a mixed-use but indisputably high-end building, with a Nordstrom department store taking up the first seven floors, and 179 condo units with an expected a total projected sellout of more than $4 billion. According to its website, prices range from $6.9 million for a 33rd floor two-bedroom to $63 million for a 112th-floor five-bedroom. In yet another superlative, Central Park Tower is also expected to be the country’s pricest condo project.
In January, the Wall Street Journal reported that the newly opened sales office at Central Park Tower invited potential buyers to “sip Champagne and Johnnie Walker Black Label amid a onyx-clad walls and Lalique crystal chandelier,” all while listening to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” playing in the background. As part of an elaborate presentation, a voiceover describes Central Park Tower as “1,550 feet of steel, ambition and aspiration anchored to 40,000 square feet of Manhattan schist...a shimmering beacon of class, optimism and chutzpah.”
"Chutzpah" is apt, as the topping out comes on the heels of a Streeteasy analysis last week that found that one in four new luxury condos built over the last six years remain unsold.
In its story about the report on Friday, the New York Times noted that Extell has yet to release sales data on Central Park Tower, but given the data, the project faces formidable obstacles. According to Jonathan Miller, a real estate appraiser and consultant, of the seven luxury towers on and around Billionaires’ Row, including pending sales, almost 40 percent of units remain unsold. Sales at Extell's Lower East Side project One Manhattan are not faring well. There, only 173 condos of the 815, or 21 percent, have closed, according to the Commercial Observer, although the developer asserts that "hundreds" of closings are in the pipeline.
Central Park Tower comes on the market approximately seven years after Extell's One57, which set a lot of the benchmarks for supertalls in terms of height, the role of starchitects and pricing, according to Miller.
“In the beginning, the market was wide and deep, and there was a lot of optimism,” he told Gothamist. “However, now we are dealing with a weaker global economic picture.”
According to Miller, One57 currently has 20 percent of its units unsold. Those units will essentially be competing with Extell's shiner creation, Central Park Tower.
A rendering of Central Park Tower
Even before signs of a luxury glut, many have criticized the “cloud piercing” skyline, noting that luxury buildings are often snapped up by out-of-town investors who pay no city income tax and little property tax.
Earlier this month, New York Senator Brad Hoylman announced his intention to renew his battle to pass his pied-a-terre tax
The menacing climate for luxury buildings aside, a record is a record, and Central Park Tower has already made an architectural splash for its staggered glassy design by Chicago architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill. Most notably, the building cantilevers over the Art Students League building, an 1892 landmark, all in the pursuit of park views.
Engineering-wise, the sky appears to be truly the limit. In an interview with New York's Davidson, Smith notes that the world's future tallest building, Jeddah Tower, in Saudi Arabia, is set to be twice the height of Central Park Tower.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a comment from Jonathan Miller. Also, an earlier photo mistakenly identified 111 West 57th Street as Central Park Tower.
