Did You Know?

15cpwby Polly Cleveland

One of New York City’s priciest and poshest addresses is 15 Central Park West, home of elegant twin limestone towers, and many celebrities. The 36-story, 202-unit building was was completed in 2008, at a cost of $950 million. Before that, this lot, on the Central Park side, had been vacant for many decades. It had been owned by a Greek shipping family, but was finally pried loose for $401 million in 2004.

On the Broadway side of the lot stood the old Mayflower Hotel. Its last resident, a 73-year old rent-controlled tenant, was paid $17 million to give up his lease.

Condos in this building have been owned by the likes of Robert DeNiro, Alex Rodriguez and various cash-loaded Russian oligarchs. Sales to date stand at $2.5 billion. Units in this building are notably good investments; apartments purchased for $5-7 million are now flipping for $30 million and up.

niceviewNew York City’s property tax system offers a sweet deal to condominium owners. Units are assessed as though they were rental apartments; their often gigantic asset value does not enter into the property tax picture at all. This has created a gigantic speculative market in luxury condos, which has spurred the recent trend toward “supertall” luxury buildings.

supertall