15 Central Park West Prices Hit Record Announces Anthony Guerriero of Manhattan Miami Real Estate Anthony Guerriero, New York Licensed Real Estate Agent, announces that prices at 15 Central Park West keep breaking records. Come take an in-depth look at sales activity and prices in this iconic New York City luxury condo building for the year 2011. Just when you thought prices at 15 Central Park West, one of the most talked about New York City luxury properties, couldn’t go any higher, the ex-CEO of Citibank, Sandy Weill, recently listed his penthouse at 15 CPW for $88 million, or $13,048 per square foot. According to recent reports, it looks like he found a buyer – only after 3 weeks and at a record-breaking price, no doubt! To date, the record sale in the building was for a penthouse owned by William Zeckendorf, one of the building's developers, which sold for $10 million (or almost $10,000 per square foot) in December 2010, only one year ago. Even for Manhattan Luxury Real Estate, these prices were quite steep. The huge success story known as 15 CPW has had a short but storied history. Sitting on the site of the old Mayflower Hotel, directly on Central Park toward its Southwest corner, 15 CPW is comprised of two limestone buildings – the house and the tower. Designed by starchitect Robert A.M. Stern, the building’s design pays homage to the stately buildings that line Central Park West, Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue – taking the best features from these classic buildings and adding modern conveniences. The power elite have chosen 15 Central Park West as their temple of sorts. Building residents include names like Denzel Washington, Sting, Norman Lear, Bob Costas, Jeff Gordon (of NASCAR fame), Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman CEO), Daniel Loeb, Scott Bommer and Daniel Och (top hedge funders), and Zhang Xin and Pan Shiyi (the CEO and Chairman of SOHO China, the largest real estate developer in Beijing). In addition, there are other heads of industry, financial titans, and celebrities living there. Back in 2009, the New York Post estimated the combined net worth of the buildings’ residents to be close to $50 billion. We wouldn’t be surprised if that number has grown significantly by now! The building has 201 apartments that range from 1 bedroom to 8 bedroom homes. In 2007, the building launched with prices close to an average of $2,500
per sq. ft.; however, those prices quickly jumped to around $4,500 per sq. ft. today, according to Streeteasy. Throughout the recession, prices at 15 Central Park West kept rising. For prime Central Park views, apartment prices are significantly higher than the $4,500 per sq. ft. average. For example, unit 3-A, which faces Central Park, just closed in September 2011 for $17 million, or $5,843 per sq. ft. In contrast, unit 6-L, a one bedroom without a view of Central Park sold for $4.9 million or, $3,678 per sq. ft. – about 3 times the average price of a condo in New York in the last quarter. Other notable sales in the building during 2011 include 27-A, which sold for $24.5 million, or $7,903 per sq. ft. and 26-C, which sold for $16.5 million, or $5,976 per sq. ft. The most recent published closed sale was for 7-G, which faces Broadway and has a view of Central Park from the master bedroom. This apartment sold for $5,575,000, or $3,173 per sq. ft., perhaps, one of the lowest prices in the building. The remaining closed sales in the building during 2011 were 12-L, which sold for $7.5 million, or $3,914 per sq. ft., and 9-M, which sold for $9.25 million, or $4,967 per sq. ft. There are three apartments that have sold in 2011, but have not yet closed. They include 2-D, which had an asking price of $6.85 million, or $3,143 per sq. ft., 28D, which had an asking price of $25 million, or $7,879 per sq. ft., and 31-D for $28.75 million, or $9,060 per sq. ft. It will take a few more weeks for the public to see at which prices these units actually sold for, but we expect that the closed prices won’t be too far from their ask. Finally, there are only two currently available apartments in the building, including 3-F, which is listed for $8,395,000, or $4,224 per sq. ft., and 3-E, which is listed for $8,900,000, or $4,168 per sq. ft. While these prices might look steep to most, one has to consider other competing properties like 25 Columbus Circle (aka The Residences at the Time Warner Building) and 80 Columbus Circle (aka The Residences at the Mandarin Oriental) where PH-76B recently sold for $6,335 per square foot. Other competing neighbors include tony One57, where asking prices range from $3,000 to $8,500 per square foot, and One Beacon Court, where a recent closed sale was close to $5,000 per square foot. However, 15 CPW still ranks supreme in comparison. Anthony Guerriero is a Licensed Salesperson for the Manhattan Miami Real
Estate Group of Charles Rutenberg LLP. He is also a CPA and holds a MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill. Source data: ACRIS, the Automated City Register Information System of New York City for property records.