Jennifer Gould

Jennifer Gould

 Real Estate
gimme shelter

This Billionaires’ Row aerie has sold for $115M — NYC’s biggest deal in years

By
Social Links for Jennifer Gould
Published June 19, 2024, 1:40 p.m. ET
Sunlight streams in when you are above the clouds
It's easy for sunlight to pour in when you are above the clouds. Courtesy of Extell

A glittering residence inside Central Park Tower — the world’s tallest residential building — has sold for a breathtaking $115 million.

“I think the duplex is one of the nicest residences in the world. That is why it traded for that number,” Gary Barnett, the building’s developer — who was also behind nearby One57, also on Billionaires’ Row — told Gimme Shelter of the dwelling.  

“The living room and dining room have 30-foot-high ceilings, and a spectacular layout. The price is more of a testimony to the building than anything else. It’s very special,” added Barnett, the founder and president of Extell Development Company.

The views are breathtaking from this $115M skypad
The building has front-row views of Central Park. Courtesy of Extell
Interior designers will have a field day with this $115M penthouse
Interior designers will have a field day with this $115 million aerie. Douglas Elliman
Billionaires' Row skypad sells for $115 million, city's biggest deal since 2021
The statement staircase inside the home. Douglas Elliman

It’s also the city’s highest-priced sale since 2021, noted Douglas Elliman broker and reality TV star Fredrik Eklund, who represented the buyer with John Gomes and Kent Wu, and announced the closing on social media. 

“The penthouse at Central Park Tower just SOLD & CLOSED at $115,000,000 and marks the BIGGEST DEAL IN NEW YORK since 2021!” Eklund wrote on Instagram.

The Real Deal was the first to report the closing, which has not yet hit city records.

The ground floor of Central Park Tower, which soars 1,550 feet high
A rendering of the ground floor of Central Park Tower, which soars 1,550 feet high. Courtesy of Extell Development Company

The seven-bedroom spread is on the building’s 107th and 108th floors — and news of the purchase first broke early this year when it entered contract for more than $100 million.

The building stands at 217 W. 57th St. The 131-story structure measures a neck-bending 1,550 feet tall.

At a sprawling 12,557 square feet, this dreamy duplex features picture-perfect Central Park and city skyine views through massive windows. It also comes with statement spiral stairs, a private elevator, an eat-in chef’s kitchen, a library, three floor-to-ceiling glass walls and two terraces that total 240 square feet — for those who aren’t afraid of heights. 

A bath with a view.
A bath with a view. Douglas Elliman

While the deep-pocketed new owner’s name is still masked, buyers in the building are a mix of New Yorkers and foreign nationals, Barnett told Gimme. 

The duplex first hit the market for $175 million last year, before it was slashed to $149.5 million. 

For those buyers who feel they missed out on the trade, the building’s penthouse triplex is currently on the market for $195 million — down from its initial $250 million asking price in 2022. That penthouse, on the 129th to 131st floors, is a staggering 17,545 square feet.

The city’s last $100 million-plus purchase was in 2022, when the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold two co-ops at 4 E. 66th St. for $101 million. A year earlier, in 2021, billionaire Daniel Och sold his 220 Central Park South penthouse for $188 million to the family firm of Alibaba billionaire Joe Tsai, who already owned two other units in the tower.

The city’s most expensive residential sale remains hedge funder Ken Griffin’s purchase of multiple condos in the middle of 220 Central Park South for $238 million in 2019 — four stories over 24,000 square feet, from the 50th to 53rd floors.Â