From supertall new developments and projects by some of the world’s most famous architects to historic landmarks brought into the 21st century, 6sqft has rounded up the best condo buildings in New York City. Ahead, find out which condominiums made the list and what you can expect in terms of views, amenities, neighborhood, and more.
15 Central Park West
Celebrities, Cool Listings, lincoln square, Upper West Side
15 CPW courtyard by Flickr cc; A-Rod and J.Lo via Wiki Commons
Though they recently dropped $15 million on an apartment at 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in the Western Hempishere, power couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have reportedly been shacking up in a smaller rental at the equally impressive 15 Central Park West. The celebrity-filled building is NYC’s most expensive condo, but what really makes this juicy is that A-Rod was allegedly banned from the residence for hosting several hookers while renting there in 2014. Perhaps the board feels he’s matured over the years, as he and J-Lo have secretly been renting a one-bedroom there for the past year, and with the lease expiring on September 1st (and the pair likely getting ready to make the move into 432) it’s now up for rent asking $11,500 a month.
CityRealty, lincoln square
15 Central Park West via Wikimedia
With 10 years of closings officially on record, 15 Central Park West takes the top spot as New York City’s best performing building for yet another year. According to a CityRealty 100 report released Wednesday, the average price per square foot of units at Robert A.M. Stern’s “Limestone Jesus” was roughly $6,405, between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. In that time period the building saw a total of eight sales, including apartments which sold for $28 million and $21.5 million. Sales at the limestone tower were able to outperform newer developments, like One57 and 432 Park Avenue.
Recent Sales, Upper West Side
Robert A.M. Stern’s 15 Central Park West may be New York City’s most expensive condo, but that didn’t help financier and philanthropist (and onetime president of the building’s board) Jeffrey C. Walker and his wife Suzanne in selling their four-bedroom pad there. They listed the unit for $38 million in March of this year, but it just closed for the considerably lower amount of $29.5 million (The buyer, as public records show, is hidden behind the title “Ciel CPW LLC”). Lucky for the Walkers, though, they paid a little over $21 million for the pad back in 2007, so they’ve still made a nice little profit.
Celebrities, Upper West Side
British rocker Sting and his wife Trudie Styler listed their colorful futuristic duplex at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed 15 Central Park West for $56 million in May; now the New York Post reports that the massive pad at the headline-stealing celebrity magnet building has been sold to a mystery buyer for $50 million. The couple scooped up the 16th- and 17th-floor penthouse for $27 million in 2008 and enlisted the design pros at SheltonMindel to combine the units to create a unique home with not one but two sculptural spiral staircases and a double-sided spiral gas fireplace that was inspired by the Fibonacci spiral. The couple is reportedly buying a triplex in the latest Stern-designed limestone-clad trophy tower at 220 Central Park South, one of NYC’s most expensive apartment buildings.
Celebrities, Cool Listings
It’s been over two years since newly single Ben Affleck started apartment hunting in NYC, and now that he has a new love interest, he’s back at it. The Post reports that the actor and girlfriend Lindsay Shookus, a “Saturday Night Live” producer, checked out unit 26C in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed, celeb-filled 15 Central Park West. The three-bedroom unit, asking $39,000 a month, was rented by Mark Wahlberg in 2009 for $32,000 a month; Alex Rodriguez also bid on the unit last year, despite being banned from the building for allegedly hosting too many prostitutes while renting another apartment. Not known for any partying antics, Affleck will likely have better luck should he want to move forward with living in the city’s most expensive condo.
CityRealty, lincoln square, real estate trends
15 Central Park West. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Even with a rapidly rising field of competitors, 15 Central Park West still holds the title of New York City’s most expensive condominium, according to the just-released CityRealty100. Robert A.M. Stern’s “Limestone Jesus,” built in 2007, has many a superlative under its limestone-clad belt, but the one that puts it in the top spot tallies the eight apartments sold in the past year for an average price per square foot of $7,227. 15 Central Park West also grabbed the top three most expensive sales by PPSF, with the $50.5 million Penthouse 40B, sold by Barclay’s CEO Bob Diamond to an unnamed Chinese buyer, topping the list at $9,581/square foot.
Celebrities, Cool Listings, Upper West Side
British rocker Sting and his wife Trudie Styler have listed their chic duplex at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed 15 Central Park West for $56 million (h/t WSJ). The couple purchased the 16th- and 17th-floor penthouse for about $27 million in 2008, and then enlisted architecture and interior design firm SheltonMindel to combine the units and transform them into a “unique home” that includes two custom sculptural spiral staircases and a double-sided spiral gas fireplace that was inspired by the Fibonacci Spiral. Last summer, the couple was in negotiations to buy another Stern condo at 220 Central Park South, one of NYC’s most expensive apartment buildings, and now that they “need more space to accommodate their growing family” the time may be ripe to do so.
CityRealty, real estate trends
Even after countless big ticket closings at blockbuster buildings like 432 Park Avenue and The Greenwich Lane, the long-admired Robert A.M. Stern-designed, Zeckendorf-developed 15 Central Park West (15 CPW) remains king. According to CityRealty’s latest CR100 report—an index comprised of the top 100 condominium buildings in Manhattan—units in 15 CPW sold on average for $6,735 per square foot over 12 months, a number that is impressively higher than the index average of $2,824. Tribeca’s Herzog & de Meuron-designed “Jenga tower,” 56 Leonard also made its debut on the latest CR100, clocking an average price per square foot of $2,657.
Midtown East, Recent Sales
The most expensive apartment closing in New York City this year and one of the priciest sales ever is finally a done deal, reports The Real Deal. The apartment, the top penthouse at Rafael Viñoly-designed billionaire’s bunker 432 Park Avenue, is the priciest unit in the big-ticket building as well as being literally the city’s highest. As 6sqft previously reported, the buyer is Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Al Hokair. The sale price was $87.7 million—a skyscraping $10,623 per square foot.